Silent Tears
by xKiaryKagome13x
Summary: Kagome is a girl who has been bullied by others and abused by her mother ever since the death of her father. Her mother never really cared for her, and neither does her twin sister, Kikyo. Kagome doesn't speak. What happens when she enters Shikon High? Will her new friends help her speak? Will things get better or only fall apart? Did her father really commit 'Suicide? R&R 3
1. Chapter 1

"Don't laugh at me,

Don't call me names,

Don't get your pleasure from my pain.

In God's eyes, we're all the same.

Someday we'll all have perfect wings.

Don't laugh at me."

- "Don't Laugh At Me" by Mark Wills

**Chapter One:** The Start

"Stop!" a ten year old girl with raven blue-black hair and brown sugary eyes yelled. Tears streamed down her face. She held her arms out bravely, taking any hits from her mother she could muster, her twin sister crouching behind her.

"Stop mommy! Stop!" the young girl, who's name was Kagome, kept screaming in an attempt to stop her mother. She sobbed loudly and the mother just angrily threw items about. She was just told her husband had commited suicide and was taking out her frustration on her daughters. Kagome was brave enough to take the hits her mother caused to defend her sister, Kikyo. Kikyo cried madly, hutched in a corner with her knees to her chin.

"Mommy!" Kagome kept screaming, sobbing uncontrollably. The mother, Mrs. Higurashi, was crying as well, her face red and swollen with anger.

"Why? Why?" Mrs. Higurashi screamed over and over, her eyes beet red. "Shut up!" she constantly yelled at Kagome. She slapped her daughter's face as much as she wanted, her hands trembling with anger and fear. "Your fault! If I never had you, he would've never..." her voice trailed off. Mrs. Higurashi collapsed to the floor, exhausted of her tantrum. Kagome trembled visibly and crouched to her knees next to her sister.

Kikyo turned her gray-brown eyes on her mother sobbing silently on the floor.

Kagome was the second to be born. Kagome knew her parents hadn't expected her to be born, they were sure it was only one child, the doctor's confirmed. But somehow she was born anyway. A twin. Her mother had been worried about the money and support but decided to deal with two daughters anyway.

"Another one, hm?" Mr. Higurashi said with full delight. He was very excited and loved his two daughters with all his heart. Mrs. Higurashi seemed to only have half a heart. That side was for Kikyo.

"Let's call her... Kagome." Mr. Higurashi grinned at his new daughter who smiled up at him with a toothless grin. The mother nodded nervously at her husband and cradled the two children in her arms. "Hadn't expected her, huh?" he continued, "Must've been a miracle." he beamed brightly and the mother just stared down at her 'miracle'. She was scared about the money. How could they support two daughters?

And now, Mrs. Higurashi blamed Kagome for her husband's death due to all the extra stress after Kagome was born.

The house grew silent. Everyone cried with silent tears.

Kikyo continued to stare at her mother's still figure. She had never seen her mother so heartbroken. It made her feel sad and mad for her own mother, the lady who loved her so.

"M-mommy?" Kikyo whispered and crawled over to her mother. Kagome didn't protest, and stayed in her corner.

"T's ok darling. Mother needs rest." her mother rasped and turned her firey eyes towards Kagome, sending her glare Kagome couldn't see because her face was crushed between her knees. "If you weren't born, ya little runt! We wouldn't have so much stress! He would still be here!" the mother screamed one last time before passing out on the floor. Her face swolen and red. Kagome shook lightly and kept her hair down.

That is exactly what Kikyo was raised to believe.

The death of her father's was Kagome's fault.

"Kagome wake up!" Kikyo yelled, still in her pjs, a white tang top and hello kitty fluffy pants. She banged on Kagome's wooden door roughly. It was 6:30 a.m. and they started their new high school today, Shikon High.

Kagome woke up with a gasp, sweat and tears streaming down her face. She had another nightmare. It was the memory of the day her father died. She had nightmares every night, unless she was lucky and had no dream at all.

"Your alarm has been ringing since six!" Kikyo yawned lightly and skipped back to her room to get dressed. Kagome stared at her door as she heard her sister's footsteps fade. She stifled a yawn and slowly lifted herself from her bed. She walked over to her closet and picked out some clothes for her new school day.

Kagome picked out a long sleeved green shirt and black jeans. After picking out some underwear, she walked over to her bathroom in her room to take a shower, timing her minutes so that she wouldn't be late.

She entered the warm shower and let the water trickle over her body like rain would on a warm spring day. She closed her eyes to brace herself, then re-opened them to examine her brusies and scars that were scarred over her body. She didn't like looking at her body due to all of the ugly scars of abuse she recieved from her mother. She knew she couldn't ever wear skirts or dresses, short sleeves and so on unless they cleared up, which was not likely since she was bound to get more.

Kagome sighed sadly. 'Great. Pick on her because's she's a weird, quiet freshman.' Kagome thought about what everyone would say. She would be bullied again because of her strange acts and hated the thought of it. Kagome didn't like talking to anyone in school, mostly because she wasn't allowed to make friends and it was just better to be alone. 'Just like middle school...' she thought sadly.

Kagome turned off the water and let her wet hair drip over her shoulders. A cool breeze passed by her, making Kagome shiver slightly. She stepped out and wrapped her dry towel around her, soaking up the wet water on her body.

She exited her bathroom and looked across the room to her drawers where a picture of her dad was.

'Hey dad. I start a new high school today.' Kagome thought sadly as she walked towards his photo. She gently stroked the picture frame with her thumb. She smiled at the memory of her father. She loved him with all her heart. She knew her mother repeatedly said it was her fault her father commited suicide, but she knew he loved her just as much as she did him. He would take her and play piano with her, his big hands running across the keys delicately as she watched him with eyes of interest. That was why she loved the piano. It had a soft tone, the melody could make her cry.

She blinked to wipe away small droplets of tears in her eyes and turned away from her father's picture. She quickly got dressed and slipped on her black converse.

A fourteen year old with no freedom, no friends and no love. Why didn't _she _commit suicide? And although she questioned it to herself, she kept reminding herself that she wanted to be strong. Stronger than her father. Stronger for the both of them. She wanted to prove her mother wrong and someday walk away with a taunting smile her mother would gape at. But after four years of terrible abuse, her strength seemed to be weakening.

Kagome looked in her mirror to see how she looked for the day. Casual as usual. Her mother didn't buy her clothes of high fashion like she did for Kikyo. In fact, her mother rarely bought her clothes at all. Kagome worked part time as a waitress to make money for herself and buy her own things. Other than that, Kagome never left her boring, plain room. With it's brown walls and wooden floors. One closet, a small bed, but big enough for two people, a bookshelf for her books, a dresser with a small mirror above it, and her grand piano her father owned. She managed to convince her mother to keep it. Compared to Kikyo's room, Kagome's room was just empty space and air.

She grabbed her black bookbag she used as her school bag. She had another yellow bag which was much bigger, but only used it on special occasions, like when she were to visit her grandmother Kaede, who she loved very much.

She brushed her hair in to a ponytail that bounced cutely with her movements and exited her bedroom.

"'Bout time! Listen, I'm feeling generous today. How about I drive you?" Kikyo smirked as she saw Kagome walk out of her bedroom. Kikyo sometimes felt pity for her sister, but otherwise, treated her not too kindly. Kagome didn't despise Kikyo, but she didn't particularly like her too much either. Kikyo was, afterall, raised to hate Kagome.

Kagome looked soundlessly over at Kikyo, and shrugged emotionlessly. Kagome was good at hiding her emotions.

"Tch. Y'know it's really annoying when I don't get a reply." Kikyo scoffed angrily and skipped down the steps like the 'princess' she was.

Oh, that was another thing.

Kagome didn't speak.

She could if she wanted to, but she stopped talking last year at the age 13 because all her screams and cries were distant, and no one seemed to care if she talked anyway. So she simply stopped. She was so used to not talking, her voice was probably hoarse and rough. No matter what, due to her broken heart, she never spoke.

Kagome followed Kikyo silently to downstairs, quietly observing her sister. She wore a red v-neck shirt and light blue jeans with black high heels. She let her hair down loose as usual.

"Goodmorning Kikyo! Toast is on the table for you!" Mrs. Higurashi smiled brightly at her daughter and glared when Kagome passed by. "Yeah, I left a small piece for you too." she grumbled and went to sit at the table were Kikyo was picking up her toast. Kikyo stared at Kagome sympatheticly, and Kagome just looked away. She didn't need her pity.

Once Kikyo finished, and Kagome ate the small piece her mother left, they both headed towards the bright white car Kikyo had gotten for her fourteenth birthday. Kikyo had a permit to drive with an adult who knew how to drive in the car, not her lisense. But still drove anyway. Kagome didn't really care.

"Uh... Kagome? Couldn't you have... uh prettied up?" Kikyo mumbled through the silence that hung around. Kagome stared outside the window and shrugged.

'That's not even a word.' she thought in her head. 'The minute we get to school, she'll act like a total stranger to me. Why do I care? Oh wait, I don't.' Kagome flicked at her fingernails and avoided any eye contact between her and Kikyo.

"Geez Kagome. I was just trying to be nice." Kikyo grumbled once they pulled in to the school's parking lot. Kagome got out of the car quickly and sped to the school before Kikyo could run her mouth any longer.

'What class do I have? Oh, English...' Kagome thought in her head to herself. She stared around the hallways full of crowded teenagers and tried to shuffle past the groups, looking for room 312. Kagome prayed nobody spoke to her.

"Oh, where the heck is room 312?" a girl with long brown hair tied into a ponytail grumbled rather loudly. She wore a pink tangtop with kahki pants and white sneakers. Kagome observed the girl and her movements and decided it was best to follow the girl, seeing as how they were both lost and Kagome didn't talk to anyone. Hopefully this girl would ask for directions. She sneakily made her way behind the girl and started following her path.

Kagome was just inches behind the girl when she abruptly swung around and saw Kagome standing there with a bored look. The girl with brown hair looked down the the blue paper in the girl's hand.

"Ah! You have the same schedule as me!" The girl beamed and stuck out her hand to shake. "I'm Sango, are you looking for room 312 as well?" she asked in a polite tone. Kagome shook her hand gently and nodded. So much for going unnoticed.

"Sango!" a voice from down the hall screamed. The halls were beginning to become empty due to all the kids leaving off to their classes.

"Miroku!" The girl screamed back in a 'thank goodness!' tone of voice. Kagome observed as the girl ran up to a teen boy with dark hair tied in to a small pony tail. Kagome wouldn't even call it a pony tail, it was too short for that. More like a stand of hair tied around the back.

"We're looking for room 312. Where is it?" she yelled in a rush and Miroku glanced over at Kagome. She quietly stared to the floor, avoiding eye contact.

"Well, well. Who's your friend?" Miroku chuckled and grinned sexily. Kagome's cheeks flared up at the thought of her getting hit on. Sango punched his arm angrily.

"Miroku! You pervert. Just tell us before the bell rings!" Sango asked in her most pleading tone. She cupped her hands together for good measure.

"Ok, ok. Down the hall, to your right." he pointed down the hall with his finger, unable to ignore her plead. "Do I get a reward?" he grinned cheesily and in one swift movement, groped her butt. Her face seemed to glow red but Kagome couldn't tell if it was out of embarrassment or anger. She slapped him across the face, leaving a sting in the silenced air.

"C'mon." Sango said in a rush and grabbed Kagome by her wrist. They both ran down the hall. Kagome smiled a little. The whole scene was pretty funny.

"Glad you two could come. With seconds to spare." the teacher, a cheery fellow with a round stomach figure smiled at the young two ladies who seemed to be catching their breath. He invited them in and they both chose seats in the back of the classroom. Kagome was by the window, the perfect view for day dreaming. Sango sat right in front of her. Hopefully talking to Kagome was only a one time thing because they were both lost.

"Now class, since this is english..." the teacher began. He had written his name on the board. 'Myoga' it said.

"That was a pretty stupid scene out there. Sorry you had to witness it." Sango whispered as she turned around to face Kagome. Looks like this girl would keep on talking to Kagome, which was surprising. She wasn't one to catch attention from others. Kagome stared up at the teacher to make sure he wasn't looking, then gave Sango a smile. In all truth, Kagome hadn't really minded.

"Don't talk much do you?" Sango asked in a quiet tone. She intertwined her fingers and glanced around to make sure she wasn't drawing attention to them.

Kagome shook her head, her smile fading.

Sango frowned. "Could I at least know your name?" she asked politely. Her fingers drummed against the chair she sat in. Kagome silently stared at the floor embarrassingly. She obviously couldn't say, and this girl would think odd of her.

"Higurashi, Kagome?" Myoga called out, staring at his clipboard, then looked up at the class. Kagome raised her hand and from the corner of her eye she could see Sango grin. All eyes were on Kagome, and she felt very uncomfortable over their gazes. Soon enough they looked away to see the next student being called. Kagome let out a breath of relief.

"Kagome, hmm? Nice name." Sango smiled sweetly and Kagome just nodded. Now Kagome thought of this girl strange. Normally, people would stop talking to her by now. "Well, it's nice to meet you Kagome. I'm a freshman here too, although I have two friends that come here. Miroku and Inuyasha. You've already met Miroku, he's a pig right? But don't worry, I wouldn't ever let him touch you. You should meet Inuyasha! He's a little on the rough edges, but he's pretty cool once you get to know him."

Kagome nodded slowly, catching every word this girl said. Why was this girl talking to her? Kagome wasn't actually making a friend, was she?

"This is Kagome. She doesn't talk much." Sango said, smiling apologetically at Kagome, saying she was sorry for telling her friends that she didn't talk. Kagome didn't mind. She rather others are told about her than finding out themselves.

She stood in front of Sango's two friends. Miroku and Inuyasha. Inuyasha was a handsome teen but looked a little bit odd. He had long white hair and cute dog ears at the top of his head. He had fangs and long nails. No not nails- claws.

"Hey, I'm Inuyasha." the boy said gruffly, shifting in his seat. He tried not to stare at the girl much, but it was obvious he was observing her.

"I'm Miroku." the boy next to Inuyasha grinned. Kagome bowed shyly as her way of saying hello.

They all sat at a table near the far end of the cafeteria. Apparently, the cafeteria was so big it was big enough to hold everyone for the same lunch period. Sango dragged Kagome along with her in order to meet her friends.

Kagome sat in front of Inuyasha, and Sango sat beside her in front of Miroku. As they all engaged in a conversation, Kagome observed Inuyasha. 'Why does he look like that?' Kagome thought to herself.

Inuyasha seemed to turn his gaze on the new girl as well, and once they locked eyes, Inuyasha blurted out, "Watcha starin' at wench?"

Kagome's face twisted in to a scowl Inuyasha smirked at. Sango turned to her new friend to see what the problem was, and glared at Inuyasha.

"What the hell, Inuyasha? Be nice!" she grumbled in a low dangerous tone. Inuyasha glared right back at her, and then sighed, looking away from the whole group.

"She was the one gawking at me." he growled out and Kagome shivered at the sound of his growls.

"She probably doesn't know you're a half demon. You are an odd sight to look at." Sango commented dryly and Inuyasha glared at her.

Kagome shook her head roughly to catch all of their attention. She blushed at their stares and took out a paper and pen.

'Wait. Half demon?' she wrote confusedly, the pen shaking in her hands. Inuyasha smirked at her question and Sango turned to Kagome to explain.

"Yes. Half demon. Didn't you know demons, humans, and the mixture of hanyous go to this school?" Sango asked, patting Kagome's hand. Kagome cocked her head like a confused puppy, and then shook her head no. "Well, yes. Demons exist." Sango laughed shyly and turned back to Inuyasha. "There's your proof."

"Got a problem with me wench?" Inuyasha grumbled at Kagome who shook her head quickly. She wrote on the paper once more.

'No problem. I think it's good. It's pretty cool... I just didn't know is all.'

All nodded at her writing, and continue on with their conversation. This was a lot for Kagome to take in.

Why was Kagome sitting with these people? And demons? What was the deal with that? She actually didn't seem to mind about the demons even though she didn't know they existed in this time period. She was surprised. But more surprised at the fact that she was sitting with people. Talking with people. And they didn't care she didn't actually talk.

This was the start of something new.


	2. Chapter 2

*~ Thanks for the reviews! ^_^ I'm glad you liked my story so far. I never really showed my stories to the public before, so hearing all your great comments is real nice! :D

Oh, for the record, I do not hate Kikyo. I know she may seem mean in this fanfic, but that doesn't mean I dislike her. She's actually pretty cool and can fight well, but Inuyasha and Kagome still belong together 3 , I love Kagome :3 I'm not against any other pairings such as Sess/Kag or Inu/Kik, etc. I think everyone has their own thoughts of who should be paired with who, but I'm a Inu/Kag fan, :P

Erk . Sorry this is so long! Let's get on with it, shall we ? Btw, I love Inuyasha's ears D: It wouldn't feel right if he didn't have them!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Inuyasha, though I really wish I did :'[

"I found myself in Wonderland,

Got back on my feet, again.

Is this real?

Is this pretend?

I'll take a stand, until the end."

-"Alice" by Avril Lavigne

**Chapter Two: **The Three that Wouldn't Leave Her Alone

"Kagome!" Sango yelled out and smiled brightly as Kagome entered their English class, apparently early again. She wore a purple short sleeved shirt with light blue jeans. Kagome smiled shyly at Sango and walked over to her usual seat behind her. Kagome had her usual ponytail and wore a blue long sleeved shirt, matching her dark jeans. It seems Sango wasn't scared away by the fact Kagome didn't talk. Kagome had actually thought yesterday was a one fling and Sango would stop talking to her the next day. She was wrong.

"So, do you play any sports? Because their having a Sports Session! It's where all the sports clubs open for new people. There are all kinds of sports for us!" Sango grinned brightly and showed Kagome a bright yellow flyer. On the front, it said 'ANNUAL SPORTS SESSION!'. The description was long, talking about joining all kinds of different sports. On the bottom, it showed all the sports along with pictures. Kagome stared at the flyer and shrugged, but smiled all together. She loved to swim when she could and she would love to try archery. The problem with swimming was that she had too many scars on her body she didn't want to show out. She decided to cross swimming off her list. She loved water, and to swim in it was a wonderful feeling. Another feeling she would have to lose, just like singing.

Kagome loved to sing. It was just like making music, which she did regularly on her piano. She stopped singing when she stopped talking. Nobody seemed to listen anyway.

"You interested?" Sango asked, staring at Kagome intently. Kagome stared at the flyer a little bit longer, pondering if she should actually do it. Finally, she looked up at Sango and grinned, nodding her head. "Cool! So am I!" Sango yelped excitedly and did a little dance of joy in her seat. Kagome looked behind her to see their teacher, Myoga, eyeing them suspicously.

"Class, settle down." Myoga said coughing to clear his throat. Sango winked at Kagome and turned around. Kagome was positive that was a sign for 'talk to you later'. She turned her attention back to Myoga who was speaking about tests, and preparing them for new vocabulary. Kagome stared boredly at Myoga and decided to day dream. She would have enough free time to study the words later. Instead she thought about how it would feel to handle a bow and arrow. Sure she could be pretty clumsy but she was sure she could handle it. It interested her ever since her father took her one outing to hunt, but instead of using a gun, he used a bow and arrow. Kagome was amazed and the sport interested her ever since. She loved watching her father handle the bow so much, she wished she could be just as good.

"So what are you trying out for Kagome?" Sango asked, handing the flyer to her with the different amounts of sports. They both sat at the lunch seats they had sat in yesterday. Kagome was so amazed at how Sango managed to carry on a one person conversation so smoothly. She decided to ignore her curious thoughts and smiled down at the paper, pointing to the archer section.

"Archery? That's cool. I was looking forward to this." Sango exclaimed excitedly pointing to a section with weapons on it. She took a munch of her Doritos before speaking again, "It teaches how to use weapons old demon slayers used to handle. It sounds real cool to me! And it shows how to move quick and stuff! Kinda like karate, or being a ninja!" Sango cheered.

"So you're both actually interested in all that?" Inuyasha grumbled in a dull tone, dropping his tray of food on the table. He didn't appear to be in a good mood. Today, he wore a light teal shirt and dark blue jeans. His silver hair flowed down his back as usual. Kagome was still amazed at the fact that he had longer hair than her and he managed to handle it well.

"Yeah! Aren't you in the Swordsman Sports Club? Or something like that...?" Sango asked, leaning forward on her elbows towards Inuyasha. Kagome was surprised someone who looked as cool as Inuyasha was interested in swordsman instead of something like basketball, but she thought it was a well enough sport. She turned her head to look at Inuyasha and cocked her head at him. She wanted to ask why.

"Keh! So?" Inuyasha scoffed angrily, the light pink on his cheeks barely noticable. He looked away from the two, a scowl on his face.

"Nothing wrong! It's real cool, right Kagome?" Sango asked, turning her attention back to Kagome, her eyes pleading for support. Inuyasha looked up to see her reaction, and hating all the stares, Kagome quickly nodded and gave a small smiled at the half demon. She really did think it was a cool sport. Inuyasha turned to look away again.

"Where's Miroku, anyway?" he grumbled, quickly changing the subject. Sango continued to ramble on about the new sport she was going to apply for. Kagome's eyes started to wander around the cafeteria. She observed the many unfamiliar faces. Her smile faded as she saw her sister Kikyo walking towards her table. She nervously tapped her fingers against the table, biting her lower lip. Her mind seemed to steer away from the group's conversation as she wondered what Kikyo might want. Inuyasha, noticing the change in Kagome's additude, turned his direction to where she was looking, and there saw Kikyo.

"Hey Kagome! Who are your friends?" Kikyo asked in a cheery voice, placing her hands on her sister's shoulders. Kagome felt like shrugging her sister off and telling her to leave, but she knew she could never do that. If she were to, her mother would give her beatings for days straight.

"Woah! You two look so alike! Are you twins?" Sango blurted out, amazed as she gaped at the two. Inuyasha stared, not too impressed.

"Yeah, we're twins. Kagome was born second, so I guess that makes her sort of my little sister." Kikyo giggled and patted Kagome's head. The two sisters knew in their own way that this was awkward for them. Kagome was a bit surprised. Normally Kikyo denied any contact with her, let alone talk to her. Why the sudden change?

'To look good in front of these people...' Kagome thought angrily. 'She wants to play princess...'

"Cool. I'm Sango. That's Inuyasha. We have another friend in the group... But he doesn't seem to be here..." Sango's voice trailed off as her head bobbed in different directions looking around for Miroku's figure.

"Nice to meet you Sango," Kikyo smiled, a smile that did not match her vile eyes, at least to Kagome. Kikyo then turned her attention to Inuyasha. "You two, Inuyasha." she purred, giving a little wink. Kagome wanted to gag. The worse part is, Inuyasha grinned back.

"I'll catch ya later, kay Kagome?" Kikyo beamed, a smile that Kagome could tell was an act. Kikyo happily modeled her way back to her newly freshman friends.

"Friendly sister you got there." Inuyasha commented, smirking when he saw Kagome's disgusted expression. She waved her sister off as nothing and continued to poke at her food with her spoon. Not looking up from her tray. Sensing tension, Sango spoke up,

"So, are we doing the hang out thing this Friday?" She stroked her loose hair with her fingers.

"Uh... No, not this Friday. My cousin is coming over..." Inuyasha grumbled, slapping his face in annoyance.

"Oh... Well how about next week? Kagome could come with us too, right?" Sango turned to Kagome as Inuyasha's head shot up angrily, his eyes glaring at Sango. His raged thoughts shot at her, which she clearly could not hear.

'Why invite a stranger?' he yelled in his head at Sango.

"See we do this thing every 2 weeks or so, where we sleep over Inuyasha's mansion as a hang out thing. We stay the whole weekend until Monday morning. You think you would be able to come?" Sango continued, ignoring Inuyasha's death glares.

Kagome slowly lifted up her head to look at Sango, a sad look plastered on her face. She wished she could go, she really did. Staying away from her mother and sister sounded like heaven, but she was sure her mother would say no. Kagome was about to shake her head, until Miroku slammed his fist against the table.

"Hello my comrads." he grinned cheesily and sat next to Inuyasha, as usual, in front of Sango.

"Oh, and where have you been?" Sango glared at Miroku, who was smiling like an idiot.

"The girl's locker room, of course!" he scratched the back of his head and laughed with joy.

Sango kicked his leg. Hard. As while Inuyasha raised his eyebrow towards his friend.

"Joking!" he said rubbing his leg in pure pain. "I was working on a paper, and-"

"Cut the crap Miroku. We know you were somewhere dirty coming back with a look like that." Inuyasha smirked at his friend who shrugged of his comment. Miroku's eyes, Kagome could read, did not want to suffer anymore pain from Sango, therefor telling Inuyasha to shut up. Kagome stared at the group, before slowly retreating her head to stare at the floor. What could she say? She obviously couldn't go to the hang out thing. And why invite her anyway? She was a weirdo, and they barely knew her. She was glad she made friends, but they might not even be her friends for long.

Inuyasha stared at the raven haired girl curiously. He wondered why she was so quiet all of the time. Then again, it was none of his buisness anyway.

"Can one of you drive Kagome? I promised I would let one of you drive her." Sango asked, one hand patting Kagome's back to keep her moving from walking the other way. Kagome tried to give Sango the hint that she didn't need a ride, but Sango wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Why are you making promises without our permission?" Inuyasha questioned angrily. Who was this new girl to just come in their group and obtain special treatment?

"I'll drive her!" Miroku grinned pervertedly and pointed to his car. It was black with silver streaks. "My car's there." Miroku dusted off the dust on his black jeans, and straightened his light green collar shirt.

"Ok! It is decided!" Sango grinned, clapping her hands together. She pointed towards Inuyasha, and looked at Kagome while speaking. "Kagome, go with Inuyasha." Sango happily pushed Kagome towards Inuyasha. She smiled brightly and turned to glare at Miroku. "No way am I leaving a pervert like you with Kagome alone." she grumbled, tugging on his ear to keep him moving. Kagome watched as her new friend left, struggling to put on her gray cardigan and pull at Miroku's ear at the same time. She nervously turned back to look at Inuyasha, who seemed to be sending Sango a glare. She decided to gaze at the floor instead, avoiding his angry stares.

Inuyasha stared back down at the girl after his friend Sango left. He saw her staring at the floor, and felt this moment as awkward. He didn't want to leave her here to just walk alone. He sighed heavily and tapped her shoulder for her to look up.

"You." he said sternly. He could see her blush as he stared down at her chocolate brown orbs. He wished he could smile, but tried to set a tough image. Scratching the back of his neck, he spoke again to the girl. "I guess I'm stuck with you. C'mon, let's go." he said turning around and walking towards his bright red car, which looked obviously exspensive. She trailed behind silently.

"So, where do you live?" Inuyasha mumbled as he entered the car. She quickly sat in the seat next to his and pulled out a paper and pen. As he started up the car, she wrote directions to her home. She didn't feel comfortable alone in the car with this gruff young man, and wanted to get home as soon as possible. Sure he may have been handsome, but she barely knew the guy!

"The nearby shrine, hm?" he asked, staring at the paper she had just given to him. Inuyasha didn't notice, but now when in the car alone with her, Kagome had a sweet tone of smell to her. It attracted him, and calmed his tense body. Mentally slapping himself for thinking such thoughts Miroku would probably think, he brushed off his strange thoughts. Then again, he was a half demon with a keen sense of smell.

Kagome nodded and smiled, even though she didn't consider her smile the best, she hoped it would lighten the mood. She wrote something else on the paper, and then passed it on to him.

'Thank you for this, Inuyasha.'

Inuyasha blushed lightly at her written words, and tried to shrug it off.

"No problem." he coughed, trying to hide his embarrassment. He never really did favors for anyone besides his two friends, Sango and Miroku. This 'thank you' from this certain new girl made him feel useful. It made him feel good.

Kagome was happy school was going well for her. Nobody bullied her so far, and she already had three friends! A pretty good start for her, at least that's what she thought.

"See ya tomorrow, Kagome." were his last words.

Kagome skipped up her steps happily. She hadn't skipped in a while. She never remembered a time when she was this happy without her father.

She entered her shrine house and passed by her silent mother who read a magazine at the dinner table. She stepped up the steps as quietly as she could, but Kagome could still feel eyes watching her.

She entered her room, and threw herself on her bed. 'Oh what a good day.' She thought and picked herself back up. Not knowing she was smiling, she started to untie her shoes. She didn't want to sleep too early today, she didn't want to have any nightmares to ruin her good mood.

"Kagome! I have guests coming up! Close your door!" Kikyo yelled through the stairs and Kagome quickly shut her door, her smile fading. "Come on up Yura. Kagura's in the bathroom right? Where did Kaguya go? With Kagura?" Kagome heard Kikyo's muffled voice through her door. As quietly as she could, she peeked between the cracks of her door. She saw Kikyo looking down the steps and calling for her other two friends. The girl who was already with Kikyo, Yura, looked very pretty, but dressed showing a little bit too much. Kagome shook her head at the short pale skinned female. She had short black hair and wore blood red lipstick. Makeup covered her face and the tight clothes she wore made her breast almost pop out of her shirt.

'Where's the point in dressing like that?' Kagome thought. She wondered if Kikyo would start dressing like that. At that moment, Yura's stare inturrupted Kagome's thoughts. Yura seemed to be looking straight at her through the cracks.

"Hey, Kikyo. What room is this?" she asked, slowly walking towards the door. Kagome sucked in her breath. With each step Yura took, her heart began to race faster. She did _not_ want Yura to step in her room.

"Oh, you don't want to go in there. Just my boring sister's room. C'mon, Kagura and Kaguya are coming up." Kikyo pulled Yura's hand away from Kagome's door which she was in seconds of reaching. Kagome let out her breath and went to go sit on her bed. The girl didn't see her, she was just observing the door. Kagome was sure these girls were popular, and only one thought could come to her head,

'More popular friends for Princess Kikyo' She stared at her white fluffy socks. A small smile reached her lips. 'What do I care? I actually got some pretty cool friends for myself!' she reminded herself and decided she would write a poem. She named it, 'The Three That Wouldn't Leave Me Alone.' and tapped her chin with her pencil. She bit her lip. These three really wouldn't leave her alone, would they? Truth be told, Kagome didn't care.

It was nice not to be alone for once.

*~ Soooo? How was it ? Lemme know! I'm trying to improve :] See that little review button below? Yeah, click that ! :D


	3. Chapter 3

~* Muahahaha , I'm back with another chapter! Were you all waiting? :] Happy now ?

OH! To: whoever can't see the depression in Kagome's life :P

Yeah well, Kagome has been abused everyday of her life ever since her father died. He was the only one who really loved her and she really loved him. Kikyo bullies her (Just verbal abuse) and it lowers her self esteem. She has been bullied ever since her father died since her personality changed dramatically to being a girl everyone liked to call a "freak" she was completely tramatized. Everything was screwed up for her, and she was very depressed. I havent gotten that far into the story yet, so just you wait ! ^_^

Thanks for all of your reviews :3

"Keep holding on

Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through

Just stay strong

Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you"

-"Keep Holding On" by Avril Lavigne

**Chapter Three:**** The List of What She Loves**

Kagome quietly stepped through the halls, looking for the best way to skip classes other than the bathroom. Normally, Kagome was a good student, doing her work and such, but today she felt tired of it all. She didn't want to go to gym and waste more of her energy. She mentally promised to go to the next class after gym. She felt bad for leaving Sango alone, but was positive her new friend would be alright. It was the third day of school, a busy Wednsday. Kagome had lots to do. She had a test in History, tryouts for archery, and then work after school. Why waste more of her energy in gym?

She quickly moved up the staircase, not sure of where she was going. Her white pants getting slightly dirty from staying close to the handrail. She kept moving, unsure when the stairs would end. When they did, they led to a big metal door that led to the roof. No doubt it was heavy.

'Better than the bathroom.' Kagome thought, ignoring the 'off limits' sign and pushing the door with all her strength. Once it opened slightly ajar, she slipped through. The roof had an amazing sight. Kagome didn't realize how tall their school building was. She wondered why the roof was off limits if they had a small garden up there and benches. Maybe it was for the teachers only, or perhaps they were still constructing it for students. She sat gingerly on one of the wooden benches and laid back, closing her eyes. Definitely better than gym.

She opened her eyes and stared at the breath-taking view. She felt like a bird who soared above the sky as the wind brushed off the hair from her shoulers. 'Is this why you commited suicide by jumping off a building, dad?' Kagome thought in her head, softly staring at the blue sky. 'You felt as if you could fly right? You felt free.' She knew how he felt.

"Kagome! Where were you during gym?" Sango asked curiously as her and Kagome sat down for lunch. Sango had her hair up in a ponytail matching her sporty personality. She wore a white tangtop and gray sweats while Kagome just wore a simple long sleeved light pink shirt, her hair up in it's usual ponytail. Kagome placed a finger to her mouth and grinned. The roof would be her little secret. A little place for herself.

"A secret hmm? Whatever, nevermind that. Are you joining the Archery Club for the Sports Session? I can't wait for my tryouts!" Sango's eyes glimmered with delight as she turned full body to Kagome. Kagome smiled brightly and nodded in response. She was very excited for her club.

"So, call me anytime." a famaliar voice purred. Kagome turned her head to see Inuyasha speaking with Kikyo not too far away. She was handing him a piece of paper Kagome was sure their number.

"House phone? Why not cell phone?" Inuyasha asked, frowning slightly. Kagome scowled. Sango directed her attention to where Kagome was staring and just shook her head.

"That's gross. He's flirting with your sister." she said, sticking her tounge out at Inuyasha who could not see. Kagome blushed as she realized she was staring and looked to the floor instead. She shrugged and looked back up at Sango, waving it off as if nothing happened. She didn't care that Inuyasha flirted with Kikyo. She just didn't like the fact that Kikyo was flirting so soon, and with one of _Kagome's _friends.

"My cell broke," Kikyo pouted which made Kagome mentally gag. Her sister put on a nice act during school and it made Kagome sick.

"Mm'kay. See ya around, Kikyo." Inuyasha grinned and walked towards where Sango and Kagome sat.

"Havin' fun there?" Sango said, lifting up an eyebrow at him.

"What?" Inuyasha grumbled, and quickly glanced at Kagome who was poking at her food, trying to go unnoticed. He wondered if him being with her sister would bother him.

"Nothing." Sango sighed and looked around the cafeteria. "Oh Miroku's gonna get it. He has to stop coming to lunch late," she grumbled angrily. Inuyasha eyed her suspicously and she gave a glare that said 'Don't even think about running your mouth!'

"Oh look! There's Koga!" Sango grinned brightly and waved at a young man. He caught her signal and started walking over to where she sat. Inuyasha growled in his throat. Growls that made Kagome shiver.

"Hey Sango. Hey mutt face. Oh, hello there! Who are you?" Koga smiled cheerfully after turning towards Kagome as while Kagome observed his features. He had long black hair tied into a ponytail, and sky colored blue eyes. Strong legs and muscles on his upper body, like Inuyasha. He wore a dark brown dress colar shirt and light blue jeans.

"That's my friend, Kagome." Sango said a little sadly, rubbing Kagome's back to introduce her. She wished Kagome would try talking on her own. "That's Koga. He's a wolf demon." Sango said looking at Kagome's widened eyes.

'Another demon?' Kagome thought as she politely shook his hand. She was still amazed about how the fact she applied to this school without knowing demons came here, or that demons actually existed! Was she the only one who didn't know? Then again, you couldn't blame her since her mother would always keep her locked up in her room all the time unless Kagome had work.

"You smell, ya mangy wolf." Inuyasha grumbled angrily and Koga immidiately went to glare at him. Apparently these two did not get along.

"You shouldn't be talking, ya wet dog!" he retorted.

'How many demons go to this school?' Kagome thought, shifting in her seat. She was flabbergasted by this amazing discovery. She didn't mind, but the fact that they could kill her in a second didn't set a good feeling in her stomach.

Koga left sooner or later and Inuyasha turned to bark at Sango.

"What the hell! You know I hate him!" Inuyasha yelled, sending daggers with his eyes.

"Oh calm down. He's a nice guy." Sango waved at her friend, in an attempt to cool him off.

"Feh! Nice? He's an as-"

"Hello there. I see someone's heated." Miroku greeted, once again merrily and sat by Inuyasha. Kagome questioned why she hung out with these people again. Then just shrugged it off and smiled at the group.

"Koga was here." Sango stated, agitated. She rubbed at her temples. "By the way, where the hell were you?"

"Ah, I see. And no where, my dearest! Just making up work for a teacher! Nothing more!" Miroku quickly blurted out the excuse and then took a quick glance at the steamed Inuyasha, who seemed to be having a glaring contest with Koga from across the room. Kagome obviously didn't know any previous actions between the two, and decided to just shrug it off. Koga seemed friendly to her, and she was ok with that.

"So you're name is Kagome Higurashi? Nice to know you have an interest in archery, Kagome. My name's Ayumi. Those two are Eri and Yuka. We are the Archery Club." the girl with waves in her dark hair, Ayumi, greeted. They looked human to Kagome. She shook Kagome's hand who nodded shakily, obviously nervous as hell. They started to walk with Kagome lagging behind. Her hands were trembling. She hadn't talked to anyone besides her new three friends. She wondered what they would think of her.

"We have room for you, it's only us three as you can see. Not many take interest in archery. But let's test your beginner's skills. You'll be able to join right away!" the girl, Eri, said bouncing up and down excitedly. Kagome dusted off her white pants with her shaky hands and walked with the group to get the equiptment.

"Here ya are. Pick any bow you'd like." Yuka smiled in a friendly way and Kagome picked out a dark wooden bow that was big and a pack full of arrows.

"You test over here." Eri said, guiding her to the practice area. Kagome held the bow tightly in her hands and turned to the other girls, smiling nervously. Kagome thought these girls were seriously too friendly. They weren't freaked off by her behaivor, but she was glad about

"Do you know how to use a bow?" Yuka asked, rubbing her hands together. Kagome nodded quickly. She didn't really know how to handle a bow for she had never used one in her life, but she had seen in shows. She didn't want these girls making a big deal about just simply holding a bow.

"Go ahead then." Ayumi finished and clapped her hands together. Kagome took in a deep breath and positioned herself, grabbing an arrow. She aimed steadily and let the arrow fly out of her hands. It shot, but flunked to the floor. Kagome blushed embarrassingly and before they could say anything, she tried once more.

She missed the target by an inch, and her face flushed. She turned back to the girls who were smiling appreciatavely.

"It's ok, you'll learn. You're officially one of us!" Eri squealed and dragged Kagome over to file some paper work. Kagome let out a sigh of relief and followed Eri in a very happy mood.

Holding that bow in her hands felt amazing. She loved it's soft curves of carved wood and the feeling of her handling the bow. It would go on her 'Things I Love' list.

"Didja make it?" Sango asked, grinning widely.

Kagome nodded at her question and smiled as well. "Really? Me too!" she squealed and jumped up and down all while holding Kagome's shoulders. They stood in the halls by Sango's locker as the day was ending.

"Our third day of high school has been so much fun!" Sango cheered and closed her locker. Three whole days. Kagome was actually feeling better, as in happy, for three whole days. She enjoyed having friends. It was just like in elementary school, where she was a happy child, and nothing went wrong. She used to depend on friends, but now she did everything on her own. She was always alone. But ever since Sango, Miroku and Inuyasha came in to her life, it had been less boring.

"Hey you two!" Miroku said, walking down the hall towards the two.

"Hey, where's Inuyasha?" Sango took out a tube of sour cream onion Pringles and began eating. Miroku walked by Sango and Kagome. Kagome bravely attempted to take one of Sango's chips without asking, like real friends would do, and Sango didn't seem to mind. Kagome smiled and began eating too.

"I don't know. But want me to drop you guys off?" Miroku said, scratching his head. He seemed less cheerful than before. More like sad.

"Mm... Miroku, are you planning something? You're not as usually happy as you are." Sango asked, observing him curiously. She stared at Miroku cautiously and then looked at Kagome for support who merely just shook her head in the exact same confusion.

"Well... Mushin is in the hospital. He had too much achohol again." he mumbled, staring off to the side. Sango patted his back in an attempt to comfort him. Kagome just stared at the two. They were obviously very close. Kagome felt like a third wheel, seeing as she didn't even know who Mushin was. She would've left, but she needed a quick ride.

They all entered Miroku's black car with ease. Sango sat in the front with Miroku and Kagome sat in the back. She shifted some side to side, feeling awkward as silence hung in the air.

"Hey, want to go to the Ramen Resturant to cheer ya up?" Sango mentioned, smiling brightly at the two.

'Oh. Crap.' Kagome thought. That was where her part time job was at! She was scared to know what would they think of that.

"You in Kagome?" Sango asked, turning to look at her. Kagome nodded shyly, she needed to go there anyway. Might as well get this over with.

"What? You work_ here_?" Sango asked, her eyes growing bright as she saw Kagome in her uniform. It was a guy uniform since Kagome refused to wear the girl's type due to her scars, a short maid's uniform dress. Instead she wore the butlers men uniform, after changing it up, she made it look girly enough.

Kagome nodded shyly and blushed at Sango's observational gaze.

"That's so cool! This is our regular spot since middle school! You should've told me you worked here! Think I could apply for a job too?" Sango whispered sneakily, a gleam in her eye. She winked and Kagome grinned. She felt like laughing, or maybe even giggling. It's good she didn't.

Miroku walked over, staring at each women's legs. Then once he saw Kagome, he looked down and frowned.

"I like what you did to the boy's uniform, but why not wear the girl's and show off them legs of yours, huh?" he said in a charmful way and Kagome grinned even wider. Sango gave a small glare, but it didn't have much affect since she was smiling a little too.

"Well let's sit, shall we? Sorry you can't sit with us because you have to work, Kagome," Sango frowned and Miroku picked their usual table. "How about during break?" Kagome nodded happily and followed them over to their table, taking their orders.

Kagome walked towards the kitchen and placed the paper with their order down. She thought about everything she did today, including archery. She couldn't wait to practice and train.

"Oh, you won't believe this! My sister works here!" a famaliar voice sounded out throughout the resturant. Kagome's ears caught her words.

"Really? You mean Kagome? Where? I don't see her..." a voice answered to her. The resturant was loud, but Kagome only sounded out _their _voices.

Kikyo and Inuyasha.

Come to think of it, Kagome had just realized Inuyasha wasn't with them. Actually, she noticed a long time ago because he wasn't there to usually complain and make loud remarks.

"Yeah, these are one of her work days, I'm sure of it! So she should be here..." her voice trailed off and Kagome pictured Kikyo looking around the resturant for her.

"Oh Kagome! Could you take these to table 7?" the teenage boy who worked with Kagome asked politely.

Kagome nodded and took Hojo's tray. Hojo grinned in response and walked away, back deeper into the kitchen. Hojo was a good looking young man with light brown hair and brown eyes. He had light skin and was very smart. Over little time, Hojo developed a little crush on Kagome. She had no idea what he saw in her when he barely knew her. She never talked to him. She guessed he only liked her for her looks, which also seemed impossible to her since she thought she didn't look all too great. She had been working there since she turned 14 and although he was cute, Kagome had no interest in him. She hardly ever paid attention to him. All he really did was talk about health ideas, medicines and school. Completely boring.

Kagome walked over to table 7 with shaky legs. She turned the corner away from the kitchen and spotted table 7 right away. _They _were there. Kagome wouldn't have a problem with the two dating, it just seemed disturbing around her. She slowly walked over there, praying Kikyo and Inuyasha would only pay attention to the food so she could make a quick get away.

She placed the food on the table delicately and turned to walk away when Kikyo's squeal stopped her.

"Kagome!" Kikyo grinned and nudged Inuyasha. She was clearly out to embarrass Kagome.

"Hey Kagome." he replied casually, checking out her odd uniform.

Kagome turned back around and bowed quickly, her face bright red. She glared at Kikyo with her eyes, but showed no emotion on her face.

"I was just telling Inuyasha that you worked here. How's buisness?" she asked, smirking evilly. Kagome shrugged and turned around to walk away again before Kikyo could say more. Then she remembered something. Sango and Miroku were both in that same resturant. She quickly wrote something down on the pad she used to take orders and ripped it out. Turning back around, she handed it to Inuyasha and walked away quickly, avoiding any more conversation. She actually didn't know why she did that, it just seemed like the right thing to do at the moment. Inuyasha gave a confused look as he opened the paper to read what she had written down.

"I'm here with Sango and Miroku..." Inuyasha read outloud, his voice trailing off as he read the last words in his head. 'Care to join us after my work is done?' she wrote. Kikyo stared curiously at him as he scoffed and shoved the note into his pocket.

"Kagome! The whole resturant's nearly empty. So, you're done?" Sango asked, slurping on her strawberry milkshake. After waiting there for hours, she had gotten hungry again and ordered more food, as well as Miroku. Kagome wrote on a piece of paper over and over saying she was sorry she took so long. They didn't mind. The sun was setting, making the resturant a peach toned color.

Kagome nodded and sat with her friends, chomping on her food.

"Hey, Miroku? Do you know where Inuyasha is at? I mean, at all? Did he not tell you anything? It's not like him to run off." Sango stirred the straw in her strawberry milkshake and stared at Miroku with interest. Kagome felt that if she wasn't there, Miroku and Sango would've had a cute date.

"No. That idiot is probably off somewhere doing-"

"Hey!" Inuyasha greeted roughly, smacking Miroku in the back of his head. "Who's an idiot?" he glared at his friend in a threatening way.

"Inuyasha! I didn't know you were here!" Miroku choked out, spitting some contents of ramen on the table. Sango's grossed off expression made Miroku laughed as he cleaned the table. Inuyasha raised a brow at Kagome.

"You didn't? Well, I was. Whatever. I want more ramen." he sighed and sat next to Kagome who nervously squirmed in her seat. "Thanks for the invite." Inuyasha whispered coolly to Kagome who just shrugged it off.

'I didn't actually think he'd come.' she thought, secretly smiling proudly at herself.

"Looks like we all met up again, hmm?" Sango smiled, and poured into a detailed story of how she got accepted into the sport she wanted.

They were a group again.

"Did you ever ask your mom about the thing next week?" Sango asked Kagome as they drove back home in Inuyasha's car. Miroku had left in his own, in a rush to hide the liquor his grandfather, who Kagome learned was Mushin, would surely drink unless Miroku were to stop him when he comes home from the hospital.

Inuyasha eyed Kagome through the review mirror as she hung her head in shame and shook it no.

"Why? Do you want me to ask her?" Sango asked, leaning closer to the back seat. Kagome's head immidiately shot up and she stared at Sango with hopeful eyes. Perhaps her mother would say yes around other people in an attempt to be the 'perfect mother'. She quickly nodded her head and Sango smiled warmly, as if she were Kagome's mother.

"Ok. I'll ask for you." Sango settled back in her seat comfortably as Inuyasha pulled up in front of Kagome's home at the shrine. Kagome knew she would surely get a hard beating with a frying pan today since her mother was cooking by this hour and she was coming home from work 20 minutes later than usual. She didn't really care, or at least tried not to.

She hopped out and waved them goodbye. As she hopped up the steps of her shrine, she thought about her 'Things I Love' list, and decided she needed to add archery in there.

And friends too.

~ * I Hope you all liked it ! ^_^ Trust me, I take my time and go through these chapters twice to make sure it's perfect for you -_- I'm so tried D: So , Imma go to sleep :] Review 3


	4. Chapter 4

~* Sorry I kept you all waiting, but it's good to keep you on your toes so you'll be eager to come back and read more :3 Besides my graduation and prom is on Friday D: So I've been busy, but thanks for coming to read!

This is a little improvment on Inuyasha and Kagome's friendship relationship! ( I guess you could say there's a little fluff but mostly friendship type of thing, not lovey mush! ) Enjoy :]

"Close your eyes pretty girl,

Cause it's easier when you brace yourself

Set your thoughts on a world far off

Where we only cry from joy."

-"Set Apart This Dream" By Flyleaf

**Chapter Four:**** The Piano Soothes the Soul**

"Kagome!" Sango yelled with a tone of pure happiness. That girl was always smiling, Kagome thought. It made Kagome wish she had her life, then again she didn't really know Sango's life. Sango dragged Kagome by her elbow. "Ya better hurry! Do you want to see Inuyasha in his sport? I found out where he practices! He's in there now. But we have to be sneaky."

'Don't we have math?' Kagome scribbled horribly due to Sango rushing her on a piece of scrap paper she had. She didn't really care for math class, problem was it was one of her worst classes. Sango shook her head and shrugged, and came to an abrupt stop near a big hard metal door Kagome was sure not even a hammer could leave a mark on it.

"Look." she whispered so softly, Kagome had to strain her ears to listen. If Sango whispered any louder, she was sure Inuyasha would hear her.

"Begin!" a deep voice yelled and Inuyasha, with a big long sword in his hand, began to fight his other opponent who seemed to have a much larger weapon. It looked like a sword, but not quite.

"That's Bankotsu." Sango whispered as if to answer Kagome's question of who that boy was. Kagome stared as the two fought with amazing skill. Bankotsu was a handsome teen with black hair tied into a long braid. Tanned skin and dark black eyes. He seemed very strong to handle such a big weapon, then again, so did Inuyasha.

'He has lots of strength!' Kagome thought, nodding her head at their fast movements. Sango told her Bankostu was human. Normally, Kagome hated violence. But these two weren't really harming each other. Just practicing, right?

"Woah, Inuyasha really is amazing, huh?" Sango breathed as she watched her friend move with great skill. Kagome wondered if there was anything ever going on between Sango and Inuyasha, as in romance. She guessed they didn't considering how Sango acted with Miroku. It was written all over Sango's face when Miroku was around. She could tell Sango liked him. A lot.

Kagome nodded and gasped lightly when Inuyasha turned to look at her, right in her eyes. They grew wide, but the gaze didn't hold for much longer since he was blown away. Kagome wanted to scream as she watched him fly across the room, but controlled herself. That looked very painful.

"Inuyasha! What happened? Losing focus?" the young man, Bankotsu, smirked teasing his opponent as he placed his weapon to rest on his shoulder.

"Shut up." Inuyasha growled back and stood up with ease. He dangerously walked towards the two girls. Sango seemed to try pulling Kagome away, but she just stood and stared at Inuyasha, bewildered at how he wasn't hurt. She guessed it must've been a demon thing, but she still wanted to know if he was alright.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Inuyasha growled lowly. Oh right, they had been caught. Kagome gulped, intertwining her fingers together, staring innocently at him. Sango defensively put her hands on her hips.

"We were just watching, Inuyasha." she huffed angrily and tried once more to lead Kagome away from the fuming Inuyasha. Her attempt failed as Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's wrist roughly. She flinched and closed her eyes, bracing herself as if he was going to hit her. It was an automatic reaction due to her mother. After waiting a couple of seconds, she opened her eyes, and saw him snarling. She was actually scared.

"Inuyasha! Let go of Kagome, we're leaving!" Sango yelled in a threatening way. Inuyasha lightened his grip on Kagome and she snatched her hand back, staring at him with wide eyes.

He coughed and walked back into the room, glancing at Kagome. Her scared expression made his stomach sick. Why go and scare her like that? He was just so angry that they had been watching. He felt embarrassed because he liked fighting as a personal sport to him. Other people watching made him nervous and as Bankotsu threw him off, he felt like a loser in front of those two. He slammed the door, making the two girls flinch.

"Sorry Kagome. He has a bad temper." Sango waved it off nervously and dragged Kagome back with her to class, where they would be late. Kagome still rubbing and clutching onto the hand Inuyasha grabbed.

Kagome sat quietly at her desk in History. She had been thinking about the whole incident that happened before math class with Inuyasha. She wondered just how Inuyasha's life was. Sure he was handsome, popular, and rich but there was more to a person than just their background and appearance. She thoughtfully tapped her chin. She didn't feel upset he grabbed her like that. She was spying on something he obviously didn't like showing others. And he had been thrown off by his opponent. Quite embarrassing.

She wish she could talk to him about it.

"Kagome?" Sango poked at Kagome's arm softly, trying to pull her out of her thoughts.

Kagome looked over to Sango, who seemed to have a worried look.

"What's wrong? You never doze off in History." she looked back at their teacher Totosai, a skinny man with large eyes and small pupels. She turned back to Kagome.

Kagome shrugged. She was one to always keep thinking and daydreaming, keeping everything to herself.

"Well, want me to ask your mom today about next week?" Sango grinned, hoping to make Kagome smile. Kagome thought about it for a bit, but then shook her head. Sango frowned.

'Not today. Next Thursday. That way she can't change her mind.' Kagome wrote on a sheet of paper and smiled. Sango nodded and turned back to face the teacher. She stared at the back of Sango's head for a bit, and bit her lip nervously. What was she thinking? Letting someone else ask her mother. She should've just said she couldn't go, but she wanted to so badly leave home. A big beating might come soon.

Kagome really wish she had an Ipod like her sister so she could listen to music. It would keep her away from the world for a while.

"Kagome! Get the door!" Kikyo yelled from across the hall in her bedroom. After a long day, Kagome had been planning on taking a nap. Too bad she had an annoying sister to handle.

Kagome exited her bedroom and hopped downstairs. Her mother seemed to be locked up in her own bedroom, probably drinking away her sadness. Hopefully, she wouldn't get drunk so Kagome could make a quick get away in her room without being hit with a glass bottle. Kagome walked up to the door and placed her hand on the doorknob. She would ask who, but that would mean speaking, and speaking was too much work. She opened the door and stood face to face with her silver haired friend, Inuyasha. She immidiately blushed and moved aside to let him in.

'This is awkward...' she thought and closed the door once he entered. She was blushing because she was embarrassed about what happened earlier.

"Hey Kagome..." he mumbled, watching her figure with careful eyes. She nodded in response and stared at the floor.

"Who is it?" Kikyo yelled from above upstairs. Kagome slowly walked towards the stairs, so she could tell Kikyo it was Inuyasha, but Inuyasha stopped her.

He grabbed her wrists. Just like before, only with more care.

"Kagome." he said sternly and turned her to face him. She struggled to escape and failed horribly for she was not as strong as a hanyou. The more she squirmed and as close as her hands came to being free, he would just grab tighter. She actually didn't seem frightened, just confused and embarrassed to actually look at him.

Inuyasha stared sadly at the innocent girl. He hadn't actually scared her that much, had he? But her face didn't hold fear, it held a look of guilt. She stared up at him instead of darting her eyes around the room like before and Inuyasha could easily see the light pink on her cheeks.

"I-I don't um... I don't usually do this so uh... About earlier..." his voice trailed off. Kagome stopped squirming and just stared at him, her look of intensity caused Inuyasha to blush. She smiled, realizing what he was doing. He was apologizing.

He quickly let go of her as he heard Kikyo approaching. Kagome stood perplexed for a moment, before spinning around and seeing Kikyo walk down their wooden steps. She wore her pink pajama shorts and green tang top.

"Oh, Inuyasha! I didn't know you were coming! Come up, we can hang out!" she grinned brightly, placing a hand on her cheek to look as innocent as she could. Inuyasha smiled back, glancing at Kagome who was smiling softly at him, he followed Kikyo upstairs. He scoffed and scowled. What was she smiling for?

'How nice. He actually tried apologizing.' Kagome smiled to herself even more and went back to her room where she could sleep. Only now she didn't feel so sleepy anymore. She slipped into her pajama pants that had a picture of sock monkeys on it and a long sleeved light white shirt. Inuyasha was still over and she wanted to let him know he was forgiven and that she was sorry for spying. But how could she talk to him when Kikyo was hogging him? She stared around her room for an answer when she spotted her window. She was on the second floor of the house but there was a big tree right next to her and Inuyasha was half demon. He could jump, right?

She made up her mind.

"Bye Inu!" Kikyo grinned, enjoying the little nick name she had just given him. She winked at him. Kagome escorted Inuyasha to the door.

"Bye Kikyo." Inuyasha smiled back and made his way to the front door. Kikyo stood about 5 feet behind Kagome as she was opening the front door for Inuyasha.

'It's now or never.' Kagome thought, quickly slipping the little note she had written for him and giving a secret smile towards his confused look. Her heart was pounding, her nervousness growing. She closed the door and quickly made her way to her bedroom, locking her door in the process. She thought she was so sneaky!

Inuyasha stood dumbfounded staring at the front door for a while after it had closed. He didn't get to apologize, but she didn't seem quite angry with him. He looked at the note she had given to him all folded up. He slowly opened it and there he read:

'Come through my bedroom window. There's a tree you can jump up to. -Kagome'

He shook his head at this girl's antics but did as she said and went to the back where he could see her window wide open. What was she up to? He jumped up and landed firmly on a tree's branch, then quickly jumped into her window.

She was sitting at her piano, staring at the keys.

"You have a piano?" Inuyasha asked, staring around her room. She jumped up, startled, then calmed down when she saw Inuyasha. He had taken a while to come she thought he would decline her offer.

"Don't get so scared. You're the one who invited me." he smirked, showing his little note and she blushed shyly. "So, what's up?"

'You are forgiven.' she wrote on a long sheet of yellow paper. He stared down at her writing and sighed with relief. She forgave him.

"_Really _now? And what makes you think I was gonna apologize?" he joked, grinning at Kagome's scowl. She punched his arm and he laughed. It felt like a mere tap to him. Inuyasha examined her room as Kagome scribbled some more onto the paper. He noticed how different her room and Kikyo's room looked. Kikyo's room was filled with posters and expensive furniture, as while Kagome just had simple furniture. Her room was dull, as while Kikyo's room was colorful. He wondered why she had such a plain room. What a strange girl.

'I'm sorry for spying on you today. But to be honest, you were really good! I liked watching you.' she had written. Inuyasha's eyes grew wide and he turned his head away from her.

"Keh!" he scoffed, his cheeks a light pink. He saw her black grand piano and suddenly caught an idea that would draw the attention away from his reddening face. "Play a song for me, will ya?" he grinned evilly as he saw her horrid expression.

Kagome dropped the notebook on her bed. She quickly shook her head and pointed to the window for him to leave. She had never played in front of anyone and she certainly wasn't going to start now.

"Oh c'mon. One song! I've never heard someone play the piano in front of my very eyes." he pleaded. He wanted to hear how she played. He had nothing better to do at home and decided to kill time. Listening to her play was better than listening to his older brother Sesshomaru complain.

Kagome's hands trembled slightly, unseen to Inuyasha's eyes since she held them behind her back. No one has ever asked to hear her music before. She had also gotten a soundproof door so that her mother nor sister could hear her play. She started to back away from Inuyasha, her eyes trailing the floor. She shook her head again.

"You know you want to!" he urged, daring to continue his plead. "One song. For me, please? And I won't tell anyone about you playing piano. If you don't, I'll tell the school you're going to preform a song and force you on stage with millions of people staring at you until you play." he threatened. It was a lie of course, he said it in a joking tone. He couldn't actually do it to her. But Kagome seemed to have believed it as her face turned into an angry expression. She punched his arm a little harder this time, causing Inuyasha to laugh again. To him, it was a mere light bump. She stuck her tounge out at him as she slowly made her way towards her piano. Inuyasha could now see how she trembled slightly due to her nervousness. He walked and sat beside her as she sat on the bench in front of the piano. She glanced at him and he gave a thumbs up to show he encouraged her, grinning with one fang in a teasing way.

'Is he enjoying my misery?' Kagome groaned in her head. She frowned at him and stretched out her hands. Staring at her keys, her hands shook beside her as she curled them into fists.

Inuyasha was determined to hear her play. He put a reasurring hand on her shoulder. She looked up at his smile and smiled back. She would play, not just because of a threat, but because she also experienced something she shouldn't have when she witnessed Inuyasha in his sport. It was like someone spying on her playing piano. She owed him this. She nodded shakily and bit her lower lip.

With a shaky breath, she lifted her fingers. Softly running through all the keys, she began to play. It was one of the most beautiful melody's Inuyasha had ever heard, and it happened to be Kagome's best. She had made the song herself.

Playing as best as she could, her emotions flew with the music and it soothed his soul. The keys on the piano played delicately by Kagome's fragile hands. She closed her eyes and continued playing, obviously knowing the song all too well. Inuyasha stared at her. She looked amazing at playing the piano like that. The room had an orange glow due to the sunset and it went perfectly well with the tune she played. He loved it.

Her body moved along with the music, lightly bumping into him at times. He wondered just what this song was named. It had such a special tune to it. It sounded sad, yet happy at the same time. It made him feel weird with mixed emotions. Kagome was playing out her emotions and he could feel it with every key. Inuyasha caught himself lost in the music. The piano was such a beautiful, delicate instrument.

Kagome ended and opened her eyes slowly. As if just realizing where she was at and what she had done, she quickly stood and walked over to her bed blushing embarrassingly. Inuyasha was upset the soft music stopped playing, but stood as well and clapped. Kagome whirled around and gaped at him. He actually liked her piano playing?

"What is that called?" he asked, unable to stop himself. She nervously wrote on the paper. Her shaking was back.

'Toki O Koeru. One of my best songs. I made it myself.' she blushed as he read it. He nodded in an understanding way.

"That was truly..." he struggled to find the right words for it. He wasn't one for mushy sayings, so he just decided to say the truth. "All I can say is that I loved it. It made me feel... Mixed up. All weird but in a good way. You should play for me more, Kagome." he grinned at her flustered figure. Before things could get more... weird, he quickly hopped out her window, sending a small wink as he left. He couldn't believe he just told her that, but it was the truth. He loved her piano playing.

Kagome sat still on her bed. She thought about what just happened and decided it was best not to question it. Someone loved something about her, and that was all she really cared about.

Inuyasha loved her song, he loved the way she played piano. She hadn't heard the word 'love' since her father died.

It always gave her a warm feeling. Inuyasha was a good friend.

~ * :O Lookie! The chapter is done! What did ya think? ^.^ Reviews help me think of new ideas! This chapter was just mostly based on Inuyasha and Kagome. Reviewwww :D Btw, Toki O Kperu is a real song, it's the song that plays everytime something cute happens between Inuyasha and Kagome in the show. You can search it up on Youtube :] I love the melody 3


	5. Chapter 5

~* I'm sooooo sorry for taking a while to update! D: See, I had lots to do. I graduated ! :D ( 8th grade ) Then there was prom , after that day it was my sisters graduation. Then parties and blah blah blah . And my nails are done and it's hard to type with them on -_-

Anyway , enjoy the chapter . A little twist in things.. I guess ._.

"Waking up, I see that everything is OK

The first time in my life and now it's so great

Slowing down, I look around and I am so amazed

I think about the little things that make life great

I wouldn't change a thing about it

This is the best feeling."

-"Innocence" by Avril Lavigne

**Chapter Five:** **Babysitting**

Kagome sighed as she sat at her desk. Sango had dozed off in front of her. They were in math class. A lady named Ourasuai was their teacher. She seemed rather old, and odd, but she didn't care about what the teens would do in her class.

"It's your education. Not mine. Either you choose to listen and pass or goof off and fail." she had said sternly. Kagome stared out her window, the clouds moving pretty quickly. It was nice and sunny out with a cool breeze, and Kagome wish she were up on the roof. Winter was drawing near, but it was still nice enough to wear a sweater outside. Today was friday, the ending of the school week. As usual, Kagome had no plans for the weekend.

She wished she could actually plan something for the weekend, but knew she would only get a beating from her mother if she asked. If she could, she would fast forward time to next Thursday so she could ask her mom about the sleep over on Friday. It seemed she felt closer with her friends despite it only being a week long knowing them.

She drummed her fingers against the desk in pure boredom. Why didn't she skip this class? She mentally slapped herself after that. She shouldn't be thinking like that. If she ever once let her grades slip, she feared she wouldn't get into college and leave her mother.

She decided to think about what happened yesterday during the evening sunset. She played piano in front of someone. And not just anyone. She had played in front of Inuyasha, and he actually liked it. No, not liked- loved it, so he said. She wondered if he would love her singing too, then quickly shook the thought out of her head. She would not sing for him, she couldn't. She smiled to herself at his reaction to her piano playing. Surely she couldn't be _that _good. Maybe he was just teasing her, but he seemed pretty serious.

'His words made me feel happy.' she thought, placing both her hands on her face and blushing brightly. Now if her mother found out he had been in her room, if _anyone_ had been in her room, she would be seriously hurt.

"Hey all!" Sango cheered as she sat down with Kagome by her side. Inuyasha and Miroku were already there, having a rather boring conversation.

"Hey." they both said in usion. Kagome glanced at Inuyasha, who seemed to do the same thing. She quickly looked away and blushed as she stared at the floor. He smirked at her figure. She was obviously still embarrassed about yesterday. Today Kagome wore a tight white long sleeved shirt and light blue denim jeans. Her hair was in her usual pony tail and Inuyasha wondered just how she would look without her usual cute pony tail.

"Hi-hi!" Kikyo giggled as she came up to the table. Kagome kept her gaze to the floor, her face now a scowl. She wanted her sister to stay away! Especially from Inuyasha.

'Woah.' Kagome thought, 'Where did that come from? Why do I care if she wants to be with Inuyasha?' she looked up and saw them two having a flirty conversation. Miroku and Sango seemed to talk with her too. Kagome was left to do nothing but stare. She watched as Kikyo batted her eyelashes innocently. Kagome leaned against the wall she sat by, and closed her eyes. Kikyo's voice was so annoying, and Inuyasha flirting back was not helping. Kagome tapped a finger on her crossed arms and sighed silently. Nobody seemed to be paying attention to her when Kikyo was around. Nobody ever did. Kikyo was always the center of attention. Seeing as not being wanted, Kagome stood abruptly and walked towards the exit of the cafeteria. Clean, fresh air would help her keep her cool.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha yelled out. Kagome turned to look at the group who were all looking at her, even Kikyo. Hating the attention, she gave a false shy smile she hoped was believable and quickly left the cafeteria.

She dragged her feet against the floor, her face was dull. She walked up the stairs to the roof and opened the heavy metal door. Picking her usual spot on the old wooden bench, she sat and closed her eyes. The breeze was nice, yet it was slightly chilly. Kagome clutched her arms together and opened her eyes, staring off into the sky. Why did she have to be born in a family like hers? She loved her father, she just wished her mother and sister were different. She wouldn't ever find anyone to love her, or at least that's what she thought. She was an abnormal girl, and nobody paid much attention to her, especially when Kikyo was around. She would always be compared to her sister. Her and her sister were no where near alike.

"Sorry Kikyo. I'll be back." Inuyasha stood, inturrupting Kikyo's sentence, and quickly exited the cafeteria in search of Kagome. No one knew he was going to look for her, they thought he merely needed to use the bathroom. Once Kagome left, Kikyo sat in her spot and told them Kagome had a thing for running off like that. She kept talking with the three, proud of herself for stealing Kagome's friends. Inuyasha had wondered why Kagome all of a sudden left and knew something was up. He tried to push it out of his mind, that she was fine and she needed to go to the bathroom, but he couldn't help it. After ten minutes of talking with Kikyo, he decided to go after her.

He followed her scent. Being half demon did come in handy. He walked up the stairs, confused as to why she went up so high. He stopped at the metal roof door, it was slightly ajar and her scent led in there. He pushed it more open with ease and surprisingly, it didn't creak. He stepped through and saw Kagome sitting on what looked like an old dark wooden bench, staring at the sky. He quietly walked over to her. She snapped out of her gaze and turned to see Inuyasha. Tears glistened in her eyes.

Her eyes grew wide and she quickly wiped her tears away, hoping Inuyasha didn't notice or ask questions. Her face turned into a smile as she scooted over a bit and patted the empty space next to her for him to sit. She was very surprised to see him there. Inuyasha noticed the tears in her eyes but decided not to question it.

"Hey Kagome. Why'd you run off all of a sudden? And why here?" he asked. He hesitated before sitting down next to her. She bit her lower lip, and looked to the floor. Inuyasha had his book bag on his back. He wore a white colored dress collared shirt and kahki colored pants. He opened his book bag and took out a notebook with a cresent moon on it. He handed it to her along with a black pen with white and black feathers on the top.

"Here," he mumbled and dropped it in her lap. "This way, you can talk to me- us, I mean us." he coughed at his last part and looked to the side, avoiding her eyes.

Her eyes brightened at the notebook. To her, it looked so beautiful and delicate. She brushed her thumb along the edges and opened it slowly. She smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around Inuyasha's neck. Inuyasha seemed startled, and didn't move as she pressed up against him. She quickly pulled away, a light blush on both their cheeks. She was surprised by her own antics as well and decided to write in the notebook to him.

'Thank you so much! I love this notebook!'

He scoffed and patted her head like she was a lost puppy. She frowned and he just laughed.

"Now, I'll ask again. Why did you come up here?" he turned serious now and Kagome stared at the notebook in her hands. She didn't want to answer, but didn't want to leave him with no answer either.

'This is my little hiding place. A place where I can stay calm and cool my head. It was a secret, but I guess you found me.' she answered not exactly honestly but still not a lie. Biting her lower lip like before with her eyes stood glued to the floor. Inuyasha sighed and put his arms behind his head.

"I see. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your little place, on one condition." he smirked and she looked at him, her nervousness growing. "You let me come up whenever I want too." he grinned, exposing his fangs Kagome thought were cute. She smiled and nodded happily.

Normally Kagome would have a fake mask on for smiles and such during school. But this whole school week hadn't been fake smiles. She had no mask to put on. She was actually happy.

Kagome hugged the new notebook Inuyasha had gotten her. He actually went out and bought her a notebook. Kagome rarely ever got presents. She laid down on her bed with a soft thump and stared out the window near her. The day was coming to an end and it was Friday. Two days of hell to pass, and then Kagome could go back to school where people actually liked her, like Sango, Miroku and Inuyasha.

Downstairs, Kagome heard the doorbell ring, then her sister running down to get. Curious, Kagome stood and exited her bedroom, carefully placing the notebook on her bed and silently walking down the stairs.

Inuyasha was there. And he had someone with him.

"Who's this?" Kikyo asked as she bent and crouched in front of the young boy who traveled with Inuyasha.

"I was forced to bring him along." Inuyasha grumbled and looked down to the boy. "That's Shippo, my cousin."

"Hello there, Shippo!" Kikyo grinned, bending down to shake his hand but Shippo shyly shrunk away. "We don't have to bring him, do we?" she pouted and Kagome wondered just what was going on.

"Well I can't just leave 'im in the streets." Inuyasha scowled and then glanced over to the staircase where he saw Kagome with a dumbfounded look. He knew she had been there from the start, he could smell her sweet scent.

Kikyo noticed he was looking behind her, not at her, and quickly whirled around to see Kagome.

"Kagome can take care of him!" Kikyo blurted out suddenly and Kagome looked at the two confusedly.

Inuyasha shook his head and looked at Kagome thoughtfully.

"Kagome doesn't mind. Hey Kagome, can you take care of this little guy while me and Inu go out?" Kikyo patted Shippo on the back, and Shippo quickly ran over to Kagome, gripping her hand with his small fingers. Kagome smiled down at him. He didn't like Kikyo very much.

"Are ya sure Kagome?" Inuyasha frowned, obviously not wanting her to be alone with the boisterous child. Kagome shrugged and smiled. She waved at the two who left, slightly upset Kikyo gave her a job like she was a maid. Kagome didn't mind much though, she thought this child was adorable. She led the kid up to her room and grabbed her notebook. Anything she wrote in here would be counted as a memory.

'Hi there! My name is Kagome.' Kagome bit her lip, wondering if the child who looked about 7, could actually read her words. He smiled brightly, and Kagome sighed with relief. He could read, what a smart kid.

"Hi Kagome! I'm Shippo, a kitsune demon." he grinned and Kagome could tell he was a demon from the start due to his odd appearance. He had a bushy tail, pointed ears, abnormal bright green eyes and fox feet, not that Kagome minded.

'Nice to meet you Shippo. So, what do you want to do?' she wrote, chewing her lower lip. The was a bad habit that needed to stop. She looked around her room, they couldn't actually do much with the in the house.

"Kagome, did Kikyo- oh hello! Who's this young boy?" Mrs. Higurashi stepped into Kagome's room and saw Shippo there. She smiled down brightly at him, but Kagome could tell she was upset. If Kagome blamed this on Kikyo, her mother wouldn't mind.

'Kikyo went out yes, and her date brought him because he had to. Kikyo said I should take care of him while they go out.' Kagome quickly scribbled down, in fear of her mother's anger. Her mother just nodded and shrugged. Observing the appearance her mother took on, Kagome noticed the dark heavy bags under her mother's eyes and deep smell of heavy achohol. She felt ashamed that this woman was known as her mother. Someone who slept too much, drank, smoked and still managed to keep her job.

"Take him to the park or something. I don't care." she grumbled. "Just don't come back late, or hang out with anyone. If I find out you were hanging out with anyone, I'll smack you so hard with that little goddamn notebook you got." her mother threatened angrily and quickly left Kagome's room. Kagome stared at the floor, ashamed and embarrassed this all happened in front of little Shippo. She felt a tugging on her sleeve and looked down at his gentle smile.

'C'mon Shippo! Let's go to the park!' She wrote eagerly and grabbed his hand for them to leave. He grinned with joy.

"I don't like that lady much." Shippo gurgled with his lollipop swirling in his mouth. He sat next to Kagome, exhausted from bouncing around on the playground. Kagome was sure he'd be up in a few mintues.

'Who? Kikyo?' she wrote and grinned as he nodded. He swung his feet and stared hard at them, as if trying to figure out why they were there. Soon, he spoke again.

"She... doesn't seem too nice. Neither did that other lady who came in your room. They have dark scary eyes! But not you, you're very nice! And you have the sweetest scent!" he grinned and Kagome blushed lightly, nodding at his words. She agreed, they weren't too nice. But her scent? She didn't know she had a sweet scent. It must've been another demon thing.

"Ah! Inuyasha!" Shippo exclaimed excitedly and pointed in a direction towards the trees. Kagome looked up and frowned, he was holding hands with Kikyo. Why did them being together bother her so much?

Inuyasha seemed to hear Shippo, even at such a far distance and looked in Kagome's direction. She smiled lightly and waved shyly. Inside she felt sad, but she guessed it was because she liked hanging out with Inuyasha, and Kikyo was just stealing him away, like always. Inuyasha frowned, and Kagome could see Kikyo was talking and staring off into another direction, clearly unaware they were all in the same park. Kagome guessed Inuyasha felt bad for Kagome babysitting Shippo for him.

The sky was twilight now, and Kagome seemed to be lost in Inuyasha's eyes as he kept walking with Kikyo and staring in her direction. Shippo's voice made her pull out of her trance from swimming in his golden orbs, and snapped her head in his direction next to her.

"He's with her. He's with Kikyo." Shippo grumbled and glared at her from their distance. Kagome smiled softly and pat his head. He looked up at her and she put a finger to her lips. Inuyasha liked her, let him be happy.

The sun's orange ray of twilight beamed on Kagome in her light yellow long sleeved shirt and navy blue jeans she had changed into. The fireflies started coming out now, and Shippo ran off to play, leaving Kagome alone on the bench. She stared at Inuyasha and Kikyo and felt a little envious of her. She wished someone like Inuyasha would like her like that. She had never dated anyone in her life, or had her first kiss. She wondered what it was like.

The evening air was getting colder. Kagome left her sweater at home and she really regretted it. She looked down at her watch that read 7:14 p.m. She slumped into her seat and looked around for something to do. There she saw the swings. She loved swings, it made her feel like she was flying. The swing set appeared to be empty, almost the entire park was empty, so she made her way over, glancing back at Shippo to make sure he was still there.

She firmly placed herself on a tire swing and began to rock back and forth slowly. She stared off at where the sun was setting, feeling completely lonely. She couldn't see Inuyasha and Kikyo anymore, but Shippo was still in sight, playing with a young girl. Everyone had someone but her. She intertwined her fingers and kicked her feet against the ground even harder, making her swing higher. She gripped the chains and began to swing higher and higher. Her hair flying with her movements. She wanted to get her mind off things like love, and wanted to fly. Fly away from all her troubles.

She started to grin as she flew in the air back and fourth. She was high up in the air. The swing's chains clanked back and fourth, it's metal rusted. The chain began to limp, and soon enough, it broke and Kagome was sent flying.

She was gonna hurt herself badly.

She landed in a bush with sharp thorns and hit her head on the dirt. The tire swing followed behind her and landed roughly atop her. The world seemed to spin a moment. She bit her tounge to keep from vomiting and closed her eyes. She was sure her ankle was broken, or at least sprained badly.

'Stupid swing...' she thought angrily and clenched her jaw as she tried moving. Had no one seen her? Or had no one cared? 'My notebook!' she remembered in her head and tried to sit up to examine her damage but couldn't due to the huge swing on top of her small body. Her jeans had ripped open at both her knee caps and she was bleeding on one knee. Her ankle hurt with even the slightest touch and her face was scraped as well. She shouldn't have swung so high. She was in pain, her head was pounding, it was hard to breathe with a big junk of rubber crushing her ribs, but at that moment, all she really cared about was her notebook she had left back at the swing set. Her true real gift.

"K-Kagome!" Shippo squeeled and ran over to her, biting his lower lip at how badly bruised she was. She weakly pointed to the direction of the swings, her finger only half way in the air. She wanted to tell him to get her notebook. "What? You fell off! I saw you! I ran over here as fast as I could!" Shippo frowned as Kagome still weakly tried to point towards the swings. He looked back and saw a notebook lying on the floor near the broken swings. There were no more people in the park for it had gotten dark. Just how long was Kagome on those swings?

"The book? Hmm... Ok! I'll go get it, hold on!" he yelled, running towards it before she could answer. She was glad he caught on. She tried not to close her eyes or fall asleep, that was the worst thing you could do in a situation like this.

"I got it!" he happily yelled and went back to Kagome, placing the book beside her bruising body. "Oh, Kagome... You're bleeding from your head!" he looked around frantically and Kagome began to feel drowsy. "I'll go look for Inuyasha, he can't be too far! Stay calm Kagome!" Shippo ran away yelling loudly for someone. Kagome's ears had began blocking out the sound. As Shippo's voice faded, Kagome couldn't feel her body as sleep overcame her. Her body grew limp.

Kagome began to regain conciousness. She didn't know how long it had been, but she felt warm. Her face was pressed against something real warm. She tried to snuggle in closer for the breeze mad her shiver but a deep famliar voice made her freeze.

"Are you up?"

It was Inuyasha. Kagome quickly tried to raise her head, but sucked her teeth in pain and dropped her head back down. He was carrying her on his back. Her head rested on his shoulder as her hands weakly gripped at his shoulders. She could see Shippo walk up ahead. He carried something in his hand, a book. Kagome couldn't remember much of what happened, she just hoped that it was her book and that it was safe. What had happened?

"You fell off a swing. Don't try and move so much." Inuyasha scolded softly and Kagome nodded her head against his warm body. Now she remembered. She fallen off the swing at a pretty high distance. Her head was ringing and she couldn't feel much of her right ankle. It hurt to breathe.

"When I found you, you had passed out. You had me scared there, Kagome. You're so fragile." he commented, his voice almost a whisper, as if he didn't want her to hear him. She just stared off into the moon's glow. He was worried about her? "Kikyo went home. She said I should just drop you off home and you'll get better, but I told her no, that you needed medical attention. I'm taking you back to my place. I already talked with your mother about it and she was ok with it. Kikyo seemed pretty peeved, but whatever. Your ankle is swolen, but with the medic I have at home, you'll be able to walk by tomorrow afternoon. Your head suffered some pain and you caught some scrapes. The tire fell hard on you, but I think you'll be ok as long as you get our special treatment. I want to get you checked out just to be sure. To hell with my cousin being over, I invited Sango and Miroku so you would feel more comfortable. We're having that sleep over thing today, this weekend. Again, your mother is ok with it and Kikyo packed a bag for you. It's my way of saying sorry for making you babysit Shippo. It's my fault you got hurt." he clenched his jaw and stared at the floor as they walked. He felt bad. If she didn't take care of Shippo, she wouldn't have suffered so much pain. And if he had been there, if only he had been there...

Kagome wanted to tell him it was ok, that she could go home, but she was tired and really did want to spend 3 days away from home. She was sure to get a serious beating later, but it was worth it. How could she tell him thank you when she couldn't speak? She would thank him later.

Nuzzling her head back into his neck, not caring if he cared, she tried to go back to sleep. He blushed lightly, but tightened his grip on her thighs and kept moving.

"She's gonna be fine, I promise." a soft feminine voice soothed through Kagome's ears. Not wanting to intrude on any kind of conversation, Kagome secretly kept her eyes closed. She wondered where she was now. It felt like she was lying in a bed, one much more comfortable than her own.

"Ok..." a voice mumbled. Kagome was sure it was Inuyasha's. She snapped open her eyes. Again, she couldn't remember the previous events. Why was she in a strange room with Inuyasha and some woman? Not even a woman, a young teen! She looked about Kagome's age wearing a nurse's uniform. Kagome looked beside her and saw her notebook Inuyasha had given to her laid on a table. She weakly picked it up and her actions drove all attention on her.

'Where am I? What's going on?' she scribbled horribly due to her weak trembling hands. Inuyasha looked worried when she had written that. He quickly looked at the girl in the nurse's outfit. She smiled and sat next to Kagome.

"Kagome, do you not remember what happened?" she asked softly as Kagome weakly shook her head. "My name is Rin. I'm a young doctor's assistant working here for the Takahashi's. Inuyasha says you fell off a swing pretty hard and it seems you have some memory loss after sleep. Don't worry, it wont last." Rin spoke with a cheery voice and Kagome could see a resemblence to her younger self on Rin. Rin had the same sugary brown eyes she had when she was younger, but now Kagome couldn't even tell what her own eyes looked like. Kagome seemed to calm down a bit. Rin patted her hand and looked over at Inuyasha. Still smiling, she exited the room.

Kagome studied the room around her, her eyes wandering. The room looked like a mini hospital room. Inuyasha stared at her intently from where he sat on a red couch. She soon turned her eyes on him. They held a question. Kagome remembered what happened, how she fell off the swing, she just couldn't remember how they had gotten there.

"I carried you here, remember?" Inuyasha whispered, cocking his head at her. He smirked as she blushed. She nodded. Now she remembered. She struggled to write on her notebook.

'Where's Sango and Miroku?' she wrote down for him. He checked his watch and smiled, shrugging.

"Probably asleep. It's 2:00 a.m. Do you want some food? The good thing about the medic here is that you don't have to eat nasty hospital food." Inuyasha stood and walked to the mouth of the door. Kagome nodded and waved her hand weakly, a sign for 'anything will do'. Inuyasha got the message and left.

'2:00 a.m.?' Kagome thought. He had stood up that long waiting for her? And he didn't even change out of his clothes. She wondered if he stood by her side every minute. She tried to sit up, but the pounding in her head only increased. She wondered if she should ever ride a swing again.

Inuyasha came back holding a bowl of chicken noodle soup. He sat beside her on the floor.

"Here. I'll help you eat it." he twirled the fork around the noodles and tried to cool it off. Kagome blushed brightly as he held the fork towards her mouth. She opened shyly and he delicately entered the food into her mouth. He didn't want to admit it, but she looked real cute being fed. Almost like a young child.

As she finished the last of the soup, Inuyasha mentioned the small cast and ointment they put on her foot. It was to be healed by tomorrow after noon, and then she could walk perfectly fine. Everything would be settled tomorrow.

"Sleep tight, Kagome." he mumbled into the darkness as he closed her door and walked up to his room.

Hearing those words made her feel better, and other than being unconcious, for once, she didn't have any nightmares.

~* Dadum! The end! Hehe , just kidding :3 There's more to come. This episode showed a little more about how Kagome's mother is and how her and Inuyasha are becoming closer friends than ever , oh and how Kikyo and Inuyasha are becoming a couple -.- And the for those who may be confused about Kagome's feelings, she doesn't like Kikyo and Inuyasha together because she feels Kikyo is just stealing him away like she stole everything else from Kagome's life. Kikyo's always trying to make Kagome's life miserable and Kagome is just afraid of losing another friend she finally managed to make.

:O What do you think Kagome's mother'll do now that Kagome went off to Inuyasha's house after she got a warning not to hang out with anyone? Review my peoplesss :D


	6. Chapter 6

~ * I kinda feel like this chapter was rushed and things moved quickly , but here it is :P I hope ya like it ! FLUFF :O

"Yeah when my world is falling apart

When there's no light to break up the dark

That's when I, I, I look at you.

When the waves are flooding the shore

And I can't find my way home anymore

That's when I, I, I look at you."

-"When I Look At you" by Miley Cyrus

**Chapter Six:**** The Comfort and the Noise that Makes a Big Difference**

"How are ya feeling?" Sango asked, helping Kagome to her feet off the bed she had slept in. Kagome blinked a couple of times but still looked drowsy. She shrugged and lightly limped on her bad ankle. It didn't hurt as much as before, and Kagome could tell it was already healing. Kagome smiled at Sango to let her know she was ok. Apparently nothing was broken, although her ankle was close to being broken if she landed a wrong way, and her ribs handled some pain but she was used to pain. Kagome wore loose pajamas the nurse had given her. The nurse offered to help her put it on, but Kagome refused. She wanted no one seeing her ugly body and managed to put it on herself. She requested a long sleeved shirt and long pants so her scars may be covered.

"Well that's good. There's pancakes in the kitchen. And later we should go swimming! Oh, uh... when your leg heals up anyway." Sango looked down at Kagome's leg and smiled sadly. Kagome shrugged as if it was no big deal.

'Wait... Swimming?' Kagome thought, already starting to panic. She didn't want to show off her scars with a baithing suit. She would have to find some excuse to back out.

"Kagome!" a small voice yelled as she entered the large kitchen. She took a moment to look around, but Shippo soon ran into her arms. She smiled down at him as he clutched on to her.

"Oi runt! Get off her! She's healing, remember?" Inuyasha shouted out defensively and sat at the large table in the kitchen. In his hand, he carried a plate with stacked pancakes. Kagome licked her lips as she saw the food. She was hungry.

Shippo quickly bounced off and ran back to his seat to continue eating his share of pancakes. Kagome sat next to Sango. Everyone seemed to be in their pjs and Kagome wondered just what time it was.

"Goodmorning..." Miroku said with a yawn as he entered the kitchen. He smiled at everyone and then sat next to Inuyasha. "Oh yes! Pancakes!" he cheered and reached out to take some. Everyone ate as if it were a normal lunch day at school. Kagome glanced over at the clock that hung on the wall, it was 8:09 a.m. Kagome smiled happily as she ate her pancakes. This was way better than home where she would've gotten toast scraps.

By 10:00 a.m., Sango decided to give Kagome a grand tour of the mansion. She dragged her around, room by room showing her what's what. Kagome struggled to keep track of each room, the mansion was just too big, she might've needed a map.

"And this is the outside pool. There's an indoor pool we'll be using. This is only for the summer." Sango said, steering Kagome outside to the back of the mansion. Kagome was surprised Sango knew the entire mansion when it wasn't even her house. She stared at the empty pit that was a pool. No water was inside, but that was to be expected.

"So, how do you like the house?" Sango asked as they walked back inside. Kagome grinned widely and gave a thumbs up to show she very much enjoyed the house. Sango giggled a little and the two walked to where Sango slept in the massive house. "So, I have tons of bikini's here I keep in this room when I come over to Inuyasha's. You should try some on! For later on, I mean." Sango cheered, clapping her hands together. She opened the closet in the room they had entered. Kagome looked around the room. It looked way better than her own room.

Kagome shook her head to try and stop Sango, but it seems Sango wasn't paying attention to her.

"Here." Sango shoved bikini's in Kagome's hands and pushed her into the bathroom. She closed the door and stood by it, waiting. Kagome was worried. What could she say-no, do, to get her out of this mess?

She would simply just walk out and shake her head at Sango. She was about to turn the knob of the door when Sango's voice made her freeze.

"I'm not letting you leave without trying on some bikini's!" Sango teased and pressed her back against the door. It was like she knew Kagome was planning to escape. Kagome bit her lip. Her ankle's swelling was gone and she was begining to feel better again, but that didn't mean she wanted to try on bikini's. She should've told Sango sooner that she didn't want to swim.

Wait, why was her ankle healing up so quickly? Then again, Inuyasha's family is rich and part of his family is demon.

She sighed. She was stuck. Might as well get it over with. She quickly chose a dark green bikini she liked best and slipped it on. She looked at herself in the mirror and felt extremely nervous. She thought her heart would burst out of her chest.

'Here goes nothing.' she sucked in her breath and knocked softly on the door, alerting Sango she was ready.

"Now let's see, that wasn't so hard was it Ka-" Sango stopped midway as Kagome exited. She gasped loudly and Kagome looked to the floor as she bit her lower lip. Sango would be so disgusted with her body.

"Oh my god! Kagome! That bikini is amazing on you! That's it! That's the one you're wearing!" Sango cheered, holding out a thumbs up for Kagome. Kagome's eyes grew wide and she blushed brightly. She nodded and went back into the bathroom to change. They wouldn't be swimming until 5:00 p.m. Kagome was surprised Sango didn't say anything about her scars. Maybe she was just being nice.

"Guys, I need to talk to you." Sango whispered as quietly as she could to her two best friends. Kagome was taking a bath at the moment and they would soon all go swimming in Inuyasha's pool.

"What?" Inuyasha groaned as Sango stood in front of the TV. They were both playing video games and Miroku didn't look to interested in what Sango had to say either.

"Kagome has... scars. All over her body. I think that's why she never really wears short sleeves during school. Uh, don't say anything ok? It doesn't make her any more different from us." Sango mumbled nervously. She sat beside Miroku. The two boys were silent for a moment, but then nodded.

"So that's why she wears a guy uniform..." Miroku mumbled in thought. Sango whacked him on his head and he grinned sheepishly. Inuyasha was completely lost in thought. Why did she have scars on her body? Who or what were they caused by? He wanted to know. He usually became over protective when something bad involved his friends. Kagome seemed so fragile to him, which made him want to protect her even more. He was thankful Sesshomaru went away on a buisness trip so he wouldn't be there to bother. Sesshomaru wasn't too nice and would point out things without hesitation.

"C'mon! They won't bite." Sango giggled out to Kagome who stood away from sight. The two young men waited in the pool anxiously for Kagome to step out in her green bikini Sango had described. Kagome nervously bit her lower lip. She didn't want to be exposed with all her scars, but what other choice did she have? She quickly glanced at the two boys, their eyes looked eager. She smiled a little and stepped out. The two young men gasped. She closed her eyes and looked to the floor, waiting for their disgusted remarks.

"Oh my god! Kagome you're just stunning!" Miroku blurted out. If you looked passed the scars, she really did look gorgeous standing there in her green bikini and hair tied into a ponytail. Inuyasha thought he was staring at a goddess. She looked beautiful. Her scars meant nothing to him. She seemed to be staring at him for his reaction and quickly realizing he was gawking at her, he blushed lightly and smiled at her. He could see her breathe a sigh of relief, and soon everything began to feel normal as they each had fun.

It was boys against girls. Everyone was happy.

Inuyasha came up to Kagome during one of the water fights. Thinking he was going to attack, Kagome sheilded herself, smiling like an idiot. He then surprised her by tearing off her hair tie from her hair. Her black raven hair fell down flat and wet on her back. She looked even more beautiful with her hair down. She frowned and Inuyasha chuckled, waving the hair tie around his finger.

"You look better like that." he commented and she blushed a deep scarlet.

"Kagome! Help me!" Sango yelled as Miroku tried to corner her. Kagome turned away from Inuyasha, grinning brightly, she lunged at Miroku who was near the edge of the pool and dropped him in. The two girls high fived, but Miroku grabbed Sango's foot and pulled her in. She squeeled and got dragged under water. Kagome felt like laughing. Soon a finger tapped on her shoulder. Kagome froze and fearfully turned around. There was Inuyasha, smirk on his face. She tried to back away, but he was quicker than her and carried her over his shoulder. She wiggled all about but he would not let her go.

"In you go!" he yelled and she felt like screaming as she got dunked into the pool. Inuyasha laughed, and repeating Miroku's antics, Kagome dragged Inuyasha by his foot into the water. He was taken by surprise, and with his strength, he could've easily pulled away, but he went in for her.

"Hey Inuyasha! I'll finish up Sango in the wave pool!" Miroku grinned as he made his way towards Sango. She screamed while laughing and tried to run. Miroku still seemed to catch her and he draped her over his shoulder. She tried to escape but failed. Walking over to what the boys called the "wave pool" because it could create waves to surf on, Sango did everything she could to escape.

"Noooooo!" she yelled, clutching on to his back as he tried to dunk her in at the edge of the pool. Kagome covered her smile with her hand. She had to find somewhere private, or else. She tried to run down towards the exit but Inuyasha blocked her with one eyebrow raised and a smirk. She turned back to look at Sango, and her friend dragged Miroku with her as she fell. When they resurfaced, the look on Sango's face was hilarious as you could clearly tell Miroku did something perverted. It was too much, after seeing all that display, a high sound came from Kagome's direction. All eyes turned towards her as tears glistened in her eyes. She was laughing. She kept laughing, clutching her stomach. Inuyasha's eyes widened. They all actually heard her voice! And her voice was one of the most beautiful noises Inuyasha had ever heard! It was better than her piano playing, and that was saying a lot. She sounded so happy and joyful. He began to laugh with her, and so did the others.

Kagome actually made noise for the first time because she felt happy. She felt at home.

Inuyasha wanted to hear Kagome's voice again but he knew that was too much to ask for since she was _just _begining to talk. He knew she would speak again, at some point. Or at least he hoped.

Meanwhile, Kagome was having a nervous breakdown in her head. Her thoughts were bouncing all over the place. She laughed in front of people she had only known for a week! Why did her voice suddenly rise when she was able to control every emotion before? She wondered what everyone thought. When she laughed, everyone stared at her like some miracle happened, then joined in. She was happy, sure, but also felt very embarrassed.

Now the group all sat in the movie room where there was a big TV, two beds, tons of movies stacked around the tv and video game systems. They would be staying there for the night watching movies.

"What movie should we watch?" Sango asked, crossing her legs as she sat on the couch between Miroku and Kagome. Kagome put a finger on her chin, representing her thinking. Miroku did the same as he thought of which movie to put on.

"How about a scary movie?" Miroku mentioned and Kagome grinned brightly, nodding her head. She loved scary movies.

Inuyasha happily picked out a bloody scary movie that was sure to scare the two girls, and possibly even Miroku. He sat down next to Kagome, who happily wore clothes that exposed her scars since her friends didn't care. She wore a gray tang top and navy blue pajama shorts. Sango matching her appearance but in different colors. Inuyasha and Miroku wore shorts like boxers and a plain T-shirt. They had buckets of popcorn, candy and drinks.

It looked like a fun night.

Inuyasha grumpily awoke and stared around the movie room. It was dark, meaning it was still night. Kagome and Sango both laid on the two beds while Miroku and Inuyasha took the floor. The floor was carpeted, so it was comfortable enough.

Due to his sensitive hearing, q noise had woken up Inuyasha. He looked all around to try and identify what the noise was. Then, his eyes landed on Kagome. She was whimpering and sobbing. Clear tears ran down her face.

"K-Kagome?" Inuyasha spluttered out, clearly new to this Kagome. She didn't reply, but only continued sobbing. He slowly stood and crept over to her. He could hear her soft words.

"Daddy..." she whimpered and turned in her sleep. Judging by the look on her face she seemed to be having a nightmare. Inuyasha didn't know what to do. He felt bad. Now he noticed, Kagome's father wasn't ever around when he went over. Could something have happened to him? He sat by her on the bed and started to brush her hair with his fingers, carefully trying not to harm her with his claws.

"Kagome." he said slowly and quietly. She seemed to have moved closer. She was breathing hard, obviously in fear. He wanted to comfort her, but didn't know what to do.

"N-no!" she whispered a little louder and turned some more. Inuyasha twirled and played with her hair, trying to soothe her. She seemed to calm down some. He didn't want her waking the others.

"Kagome...?" he tried once more. She sobbed silently and curled up into a ball.

"Mommy stop..." she whispered sadly. Inuyasha was glad to hear her voice, it was a beautiful melody, but he hated her using it in such a sad tone.

'Mom, _and_ dad? I wonder what goes on in her life...' he thought, frowning slightly. Sure, Inuyasha had it pretty rough at times too, but he was more concerned about her considering how fragile she looked. Thinking it was best for this situation, he slowly, protectively, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her into an embrace. She stopped squirming and began to relax. She sighed deeply and snuggled into his chest, making Inuyasha blush. She was obviously unaware of what she was doing otherwise she probably would've recoiled. He didn't really know why he was doing this to a girl he barely knew, but figured she needed at least _someone _to talk to, to tell secrets to, and for some reason he wanted to be that person.

Now, with Kagome wrapped in his arms, he didn't know what to do. He didn't want to leave her but couldn't exactly stay in the same bed with her. He had to wake her.

"Kagome.." he whispered in her ear, trying not to wake the others up. He gave her a little shake and she slowly opened her eyes. She looked up at Inuyasha and stared at him confusedly before realizing she was wrapped up in his arms. She bit her lip and looked down. She was greatful it was dark or otherwise she was sure he could see her bright red blush. She remembered having a horrible nightmare where her mother was abusing her, her father had watched helplessly as Kikyo held him back. Then her mother turned on him and started to beat him while he was tied up. Kagome was crying as hard as she could. Then, out of no where, a tall shadow took Kikyo and Mrs. Higurashi away, saving her father. Kagome kept crying, but the shadow came and hugged her, making her feel better. She couldn't quite tell who the shadow was, but now in Inuyasha's arms, she had a pretty good feeling about who it was.

She wanted to talk to him and ask why she was in his arms, but wasn't sure if she should use her voice. Inuyasha quickly let her go and set her comfortably on her bed. She frowned at the loss of warmth but sat back. She watched his movements as he made himself more comfortable on her bed.

"You had a nightmare..." he whispered, sitting up just like her beside her. She nodded at his words, she knew that much. When did she not have nightmares? She looked down at her hands and intertwined her fingers. She was embarrassed.

He awkwardly patted her shoulder and started to make his way off her bed. Kagome didn't want him to leave, and abruptly grabbed his shirt to keep him from moving. He seemed startled and turned to look at her. Realizing what she had done, she dropped her hand and stared at the floor.

"D-don't go." she whispered, her voice breaking a little. She wasn't used to using her voice, but apparently it wasn't raspy. She turned her gaze back on him and noticed he was smirking. She put her hands on her hips and gave a angry look. He was taking this the wrong way.

"Well if you insist..." he started and was about to sit back down when Kagome slapped his arm, giving a scowl.

"Not for _that._ I... just don't want to be alone." she whispered quietly. She was surprised herself that she was actually using her voice to talk to him. It was true though, she didn't want to be alone after that nightmare. It gave her chills, and no doubt she would have another nightmare after she went back to sleep. With Inuyasha there, it seemed to have stopped.

He nodded and crawled into bed with her. Then an awkward silence hung in the air. Kagome laid back down on her pillow and turned her back towards him. He laid on his side facing her. She backed up in order to be tucked into his chest. He didn't know she was so bold as to make a move like that, but didn't disagree and wrapped his arm around her.

Inuyasha was determined to become Kagome's best friend.

~ * Wachaa think ? :] I thought it was a cute chapter D: Oh, for those of you who go on tumblr, Follow meee :D .com Jeeezus I got addicted to tumblr o.o , Please share my story around ! And review ! ^.^ I know I'm not that good of a story writer but remember I'm only 14 and trying :[ Thankssss .


	7. Chapter 7

~* *Steps out to crowd holding rotten fruit* W-well hi everyone... Hope you're not mad- And hey! Put that fruit down! I have Inuyasha on my side, remember? Anyways, So sorry I couldn't update sooner, I've been very busy lately. *Dodges flying fruit* Seriously! I have summer bridge (Some program thing for the high school I'm going to!) So... yeah just enjoy the chapter :] And if you throw another fruit, I'll call Inuyasha -.-

"You treat me just like another stranger

Well it's nice to meet you, sir

I guess I'll go, I best be on my way out

Ignorance is your new best friend

Ignorance is your new best friend."

-"Ignorance" by Paramore

**Chapter Seven:** **Tossed Aside and** **the Evil Eyes**

Kagome swallowed hard as her hands shook with fear. She was walking up the steps to her home with Inuyasha by her side. He was dropping her off this late Sunday night. Inuyasha continuously looked over at Kagome, wondering why she looked so nervous. She was pondering all of the horrible things her mother would do for going to Inuyasha's house.

"Kagome are you ok?" Inuyasha asked as they reached the top step.

"Y-yeah." She whispered realizing he was observing her. She rubbed her sweaty hands together and knocked on the door.

The last day at Inuyasha's had been real fun and Kagome actually had a happy had been talking a little bit more due to the events on Saturday, but the only person she really talked to most was Inuyasha. She liked being around him and talking to him. He made her feel comfortable.

"Coming!" Kagome could hear Kikyo's voice from inside the house. She was happy that her mother wasn't answering the door or she might've gotten hit right in front of Inuyasha and died of embarrassment, or her mother. Kikyo opened the door and a scowl was put on her face the minute she saw Kagome.

"Oh, you're back. Mom's real mad, ya know. Unfortunetly, she's not here right now, so you're lucky you won't get... an earful." She lied and smiled at Inuyasha. She knew very well Kagome wouldn't get an earful, she would get a beating. Inuyasha could see Kagome let out a big sigh of relief and wondered why. This girl made him think so many questions.

"Hey Kikyo." he greeted to the twin and she already started flipping her hair to flirt. Kagome rolled her eyes at Kikyo.

'Completely changing her attitude because Inuyasha's here.' Kagome grumbled in her thoughts. She knew that if Inuyasha wasn't here, Kiyo would be barking up a storm at her.

Soon, after all the flirting done between Inuyasha and Kikyo, Kagome said goodbye to Inuyasha privately because she didn't want Kikyo to know she talked again.

'Where's mom?' Kagome wrote on a sheet of paper and handed it to Kikyo. Kikyo shrugged and motioned for Kagome to sit and so she did.

"So what did you do over there with _my _Inuyasha?" Kikyo grumbled out to Kagome. Kagome actually felt like smiling at her sister for acting so jealous over a guy like Inuyasha. If Kagome had someone like that, she'd be jealous too. She decided to take this time and actually talk to her sister.

'We didn't do much, don't worry I stood away from him.' she wrote but refused to smile at her sister. Kikyo nodded at her writing and decided to drop the subject.

"You better prepare yourself when mom comes home... She's really upset." Kikyo said in a voice that held some sort of awkward pity. She climbed up the stairs and Kagome stared at her as she left. Was her sister actually warning her because she felt bad for her?

"Mom, don't do that. It's mean." little Kikyo whined when Kagome was left in the parking lot. Kagome was only 8 years old and her mother drove away without her.

"Kagome's been a bad girl." Mrs. Higurashi said in a stern tone of voice. Mr. Higurashi was at work while the three ladies went shopping. Kagome had wanted a pretty white spring dress while Kikyo got new sandals. Mrs. Higurashi only had enough for one and got Kikyo what she wanted. Kagome asked why she couldn't get what she wanted and Mrs. Higurashi yelled at her for complaining. She started to whine and Mrs. Higurashi said she would be walking home, thus the abandoned Kagome.

"But mommy, home is far away. Daddy will be mad." Kikyo stared back at her sister with a sad look and rolled down the window to call for her sister.

Kagome started to slowly following the car, knowing her way home completely since her and her father went on long walks around that neighborhood. She probably knew her way home from the forest he took her to as well.

"Kagome! Kagome!" Kikyo yelled out to her sister through the car window.

"Kagome! You little-" freezing cold water poured down on Kagome's face as she awoke from her dream. She had another memory of the past. Now here her mother is pouring cold water on her face to wake her up. Her vision was blurred and as soon as it cleared up she saw Kikyo standing at the doorway with a frightened look. Kagome then looked at her mother and saw the rage filled in her eyes. She has never seen her mother more angry than the day her father died.

"What the hell did I say about hanging out with anyone? You were only supposed to take that stupid little boy to the park yet being the stupid klutz you are, you got yourself hurt in order to leave off to a friend's house for a couple of days?" Mrs. Higurashi rumbled with fury. Kagome thought it was because if anyone found out she abused her, then Mrs. Higurashi would be behind bars.

'I didn't do it purposely.' Kagome thought to herself and stared blankly at her mother. Although Kagome's hands were shaking behind her back, she tried to remain emotionless. 'Go ahead, hit me. It was worth it to be away from here.' Kagome roared at her mother in her head.

"Mom, she's not worth it." Kikyo tried and Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. Why was her sister sticking up for her? Her eyes quickly scanned the room for the clock, it was 2:02 a.m.

"No but she deserves this!" Mrs. Higurashi screamed and grabbed something Kagome couldn't tell what. That was the last she remembers before feeling a sharp pain on her head blacking out.

In the morning around 6 a.m., Kagome didn't care how many bruises or cuts she had on her face and neck, she slipped on her green turtle neck and black jeans. She ran off to school, she was not staying in that house. Kikyo offered a ride, but Kagome denied it. After the whole incident at two in the morning, Kikyo was acting like nothing had happened when really Kagome suffered some blood loss from the back of her head.

Kagome rubbed the back of her head and winced. She felt pain almost all over her body. Sitting in her hard seat at school didn't help either. She was tired but at least she was with her friends and away from home where if she stayed, she would've gotten hit even more.

She hugged her sweater at her sides and looked around the room. All the windows were open and it was cold. She tried avoiding everyone besides her friend especially since she had a big bruise on her face which she tried to cover with her messy bangs.

"What's up Kagome?" Sango yawned and rubbed at her sleepy eyes. "God, I hate Mondays." she mumbled. Sango just walked in the classroom, both early as usual. Sango seemed too sleepy to even notice Kagome's marks and Kagome was thankful for that since she didn't want anybody asking questions.

Kagome giggled at Sango's figure, but only lightly so she wasn't heard. She loved her friends and hoped they could change her bad mood around.

'I won't be going to the next class.' Kagome wrote down, warning Sango of her dissapearance. She wouldn't tell her where she was going, but just didn't want Sango to get worried. Sango raised an eyebrow at Kagome and shrugged, waving it off. Kagome smiled at the sleepy Sango. Next class was English but she was sure the teacher, Myoga wouldn't care of her absence. She only wanted to go to the roof because she was to meet Inuyasha there during 3rd period. She had a lunch made for him. It was her thank you to him for being such a good friend to her.

Kagome sped to the roof after the bell rang leaving a dumbfounded Sango staring at her. She smiled brightly to herself as she pictured Inuyasha's reaction. He was such a good person, she wanted to make him happy. She quietly opened the door to the roof, hoping to see him sitting on the old wooden bench. She frowned slightly when not finding him there, and it only made her more anxious. She would wait.

She nervously sat at the bench and stared at the bento box that held her creations of food inside. She had wrapped it up in a small yellow cloth. She played with the knot she tied into it and sighed. Waiting for him wasn't going to be easy.

She stared off into the distant sky. She thought about how life had changed dramatically for her after she entered high school. She made friends, and actually spoke! She hadn't spoken in an entire year until she met these people. Maybe there was still hope for her.

She decided to stare down at the people around the school grounds. Maybe she could find him. She crawled towards the edge and stared down. She scanned everyone below. Koga was with his two friends who also looked particularly odd. She guessed they were wolf demons as well. She looked over and saw Bankotsu, the handsome fellow from before. He was with some other young man who looked like a cheery guy who acted a little too feminine. She smiled down at the people having fun. Soon her eyes ran across silver-white hair and she knew instantly it was Inuyasha. Her smile faded as she froze in her spot.

He was with Kikyo.

She sighed sadly. She should have figured as much. He wouldn't come when he was with her. She backed away from the edge and sat on her knees on the floor. She stared hard the bento box. She could always give it to him during lunch, right?

She nodded at her thoughts. Lunch would be fine.

"Hey Kagome," Sango waved as Kagome entered the cafeteria. Inuyasha was not in sight, but Miroku and Sango were. She sighed heavily and made her way towards her two friends. She hadn't seen him all day.

She waved to her two friends. She had been using her voice a little, but would still be quiet most times. She sat beside Sango and stared at the empty space in front of her. It didn't feel the same if Inuyasha wasn't around.

"So, as I was saying, Miroku you should _really_ stop groping girls. I'm surprised you haven't groped Kagome yet." Sango grumbled at the man who had a cheesy grin on his face. Why was Miroku always so happy?

"My dearest Sango, don't you know I only care for you?" Miroku grinned even wider as Sango narrowed her eyes at him. Kagome just smiled at the two.

"Save it." she said angrily. As they kept talking, Kagome scanned the room for Inuyasha. When she was positive she had searched every part of the cafeteria, she gave up. He wasn't there, and she wasn't so sure if he was coming either. Feeling disappointed the only person she has ever talked to in almost a year, she sighed and dropped her head on the table.

"Hey all." a deep voice greeted the pair and Kagome didn't recongnize it as Inuyasha's. She quickly snapped her head up to see Koga with his two friends.

"Hey Koga, hey Ginta, Hakaku." Sango waved and Miroku nodded at them. Miroku seemed kind of jealous, or so Kagome noticed when Sango was talking with another boy. Especially since she was good friends with Koga.

Kagome waved at the three and gave a friendly smile. She didn't want to be rude by not talking, but she didn't exactly want to talk either.

"Heya Kagome. These are my two friends Ginta and Hakaku. Guys, go save our seats, I'm gonna stay here for a bit." Koga told his friends and they rushed off. He sat in Inuyasha's seat which made Kagome mentally frown. She thought Koga was real nice and friendly, but she wanted Inuyasha to be there.

"So, how are all of you?" Koga asked happily, popping a french fry from Miroku's tray into his mouth.

"We're good. How about you?" Sango asked, leaning on one hand. She directed her attention away from Miroku and onto Koga, a small smirk placed on her face. Something told Kagome Sango knew Miroku got jealous over Sango.

"Fine. Where's the mutt anyway?" Koga grumbled, scanning the cafeteria for his rival.

"Dunno." Miroku replied, and leaned on his elbow. Miroku didn't look to happy, but Kagome thought it wasn't fair Miroku got to flirt with other girls and Sango couldn't date other guys. Wait, how would she know? She doesn't know anything about their love history, mostly everything she knew was just her assuming.

"So Kagome, tell me, are you always looking so beautiful? Of course you are! The first time I saw you, I couldn't take my eyes off you." Koga complimented to Kagome. Sango and Miroku had engaged into another interesting conversation about how Sango flirts with too many boys but she declines and says she was certainly not ever flirting with Koga. Obviously blocked Koga out, Kagome wished she could've heard but didn't want to be rude to the wolf boy in front of her. She blushed at Koga's words and lightly brushed her hair with her fingers. She had never been hit on before. Her hair was out loose today, especially since Inuyasha told her it looked nice on her.

Unsure of what to say, she smiled in a friendly way at him and he seemed to somehow make conversation well with her. Everyone talked for a well amount of time, even Kagome piped in on the conversation with her writing. Talking to Koga wasn't bad.

"Outta my seat, ya mangy wolf." a voice grumbled after some time. Kagome had been smiling brightly due to Koga's jokes and compliments. The minute she heard Inuyasha, she stopped focusing on Koga and quickly shot her head in his direction. Kikyo was standing beside him looking confident.

"Oh, he ruined our fun." Koga pouted and winked at Kagome. "See ya Kagome." Koga waved and stood up, sending a glare at Inuyasha, and walked away towards his friends.

"Hey Inuyasha, Kikyo." Sango greeted them and Miroku waved kindly at the pair.

"What the hell was that idiot doing in my seat?" Inuyasha grumbled angrily and sat by Miroku, making some room for Kikyo. Now Kikyo sat in front of Kagome, and they were forced to actually look at each other.

"You weren't here." Miroku replied, sighing loudly. He was used to his friend's temper.

"So? What right does he have?" Inuyasha draped an arm over Kikyo who snuggled into his chest. Kagome wanted to vomit. She had snuggled into that same chest.

"So, I see you two are on friendlier terms." Miroku grinned in a 'You-work-fast-buddy' at Inuyasha. Kikyo smiled brightly as Inuyasha coughed and looked away, obviously embarrassed.

'Did he not remember about today at all?' Kagome thought. She knew it was better to keep her mouth shut when Kikyo was around. She would have to give him the lunch later, if she could.

Inuyasha glanced in Kagome's direction, obviously confused as to why she looked so sad. She sended a fake smile at her friend, he really didn't remember. That was all he needed to reassure him she was alright. Everyone started talking again and Kagome just stared off. She was upset, but decided not to push it any further.

Kagome waited with the lunch box in her hand. She was by the school doors waiting for Inuyasha to come out from his swordsman practice. She blew at her bangs and swayed back and fourth. She could forgive him for today. He liked Kikyo, and she knew love blinds a person. She just hoped he could still talk to her while dating Kikyo. She wanted to get to know Inuyasha more.

"S'cuse me- hey wait! I know you! You're that girl Inuyasha went after who caught us practicing." a young deep voice appeared. Kagome looked up from the ground and saw there, Bankotsu with his friend from before. Kagome smiled shyly at the pair and he stuck out his hand.

"I'm Bankotsu. This is my brother, Jakotsu." Kagome shook his firm hand and waved a bit at Jakotsu.

'I'm Kagome.' she replied, using the notebook Inuyasha had given her. She thought if Bankotsu was out, Inuyasha would be coming shortly.

"Oh, this is Inuyasha's friend?" Jakotsu squeeled and patted Kagome on the head as if a puppy. Kagome gave Jakotsu a small smile and nodded. He grinned widely.

"Honey, did you ever notice that your friend Inuyasha is one of the cutest boys I've ever seen!" Jakotsu locked arms with Kagome and started walking with her. Bankotsu gagged behind Jakotsu's back but followed along as well. Kagome stared back at the double doors, but Inuyasha never came out. She decided to walk with these two a bit.

Kagome giggled quietly and Bankotsu nudged Kagome, laughing along with her as Jakotsu ranted on about how adorable Inuyasha was. They chatted for a few more minutes, and Kagome's bad mood was really being lifted.

"Your cool, Kagome. I like you. Let's be friends. I'll see ya around." Bankotsu grinned cutely at Kagome and she backed away from the two, smiling brightly. She waved at the two before she ran off to look for Inuyasha again, the lunch box still clutched in her arms.

"What? Seriously?" Kikyo's voice was filled with laughter. Kagome stared blankly as Inuyasha and Kikyo walked hand in hand to his car. She stood still. Now what would she do? She looked at the box that contained food once more and sighed. She couldn't give it to him now.

"Oh, Kagome!" Inuyasha seemed to spot her from such a distance. Actually, his nose caught her scent. He was glad to see her, for he hadn't gotten a chance to actually talk to her. He told Kikyo to stay put and jogged over to Kagome. Over his shoulder, Kagome could see Kikyo scowl.

"What's up? I haven't seen you most of the day." Inuyasha smiled with his fang exposing. Kagome stared at the floor. She couldn't muster up the courage to speak. Biting her lip, she held the box out to him. The food was probably cold by now.

"What's this?" Inuyasha gently took the box from her and unwrapped it, opening it up. "Food?" he gave a perplexed look at her and she sighed.

"F-for today. I was going to give it to you... during 3rd period, but you never came... a-and you were with Kikyo during lunch, I..." she trailed off and began to back away from Inuyasha. The first couple of words she used all day, and only to him. His eyes widened in surprise as he remembered the little meeting they had made for 3rd period. He had completely forgot, and skipped class with Kikyo instead.

"Oh, Kagome! I completely forg-"

"It's ok." she inturrupted quickly and turned her back towards him. "Koga and Bankotsu are nice people, ya know." she whispered. He gaped at her. He didn't particularly like those two young men. Had they kept her company when he couldn't?

"Kagome..." he started but she turned around and shook her head. He then noticed the new bruises on her face and was ready to ask why.

"I already said it's ok. You were with Kikyo. I'll see you tomorrow." and with that, she sped off. He was going to offer a ride, but Kagome had left him speechless with her acceptance. He knew she coudn't be happy, and it ticked him off she acted so casually about it. He slowly turned back towards Kikyo, peeling his eyes off of Kagome. He felt guilty. But he couldn't do much now.

Kagome slowly walked home, her eyes trailing the floor. She only said that last part to make him feel bad, but instantly regretted it when she made those comments about Bankotsu and Koga. It wasn't a lie, she liked those two, along with Jakotsu, but she knew Inuyasha must've felt real guilty then.

Kagome rubbed her cold rosy cheeks and smiled to herself. It seems she made 3 new friends today without even trying. They all came to her. She was glad she wasn't known as the school's weirdo.

She wanted to go home and play piano. She wanted to sing. She walked a little faster now at the thought of singing again. It had been a while.

"Kagura. That friend of yours, Kikyo..." a dark voice crept throught Kagome's ears. She whirled her head towards the voice and spotted a pale white man with long black hair. He looked about 18 or older. He spoke to Kagura, a girl Kagome recongnized as Kikyo's friend. She had red eyes, and wore her hair in a bun most of the time. A feather laid limp in her hair. Kagome slowed her pace, and decided to eavesdrop. It involved her sister after all.

"Yes?" Kagura grumbled. She didn't seem to like this man too much.

"Tell me about her family." he whispered lowly, Kagome had to strain her ears to listen. She neared a corner away from the group and hid behind there as she listened.

"She has a twin sister named Kagome and lives with her mother only." Kagura sneered at him angrily. "Why do you care?"

"Ah, I see. It's just as I thought. Come Kagura, we have work to do." he chuckled in a scary way. Kagome popped out from the corner she hid in. Naraku turned to look at her with his red eyes. She froze in fear and held her breath in her throat. His eyes held evil, and they looked dangerous.

Pretending she _just_ came, she smiled at the man and started walking towards a nearby store. He looked away and walked out of sight with Kagura. She sighed a breath of relief.

'Why would he need to know all that?' Kagome thought on her walk home. 'Who was that man with the evil eyes?'

~* Oh , ma , gawd . So how was it? *Snifffff* I smell a fight coming between Inu and Kag :O ( Cause he's kinda mad at her and she's kind of mad at him and you know how Inuyasha can be ._. ) Buuuuuut , Review my people :D


	8. Chapter 8

~ * Ellos! :D Sorry it took a while to update again .

OH! You guys! Since I asked people all around (especially on tumblr) and got no ideas, I need your help :3 , I want to create a website, but I need help on what's it going to be about :[ So help me out? And if you'd like to know when I publish a new chapter, I always put a post on tumblr saying i did , so if you want my tumblr go on my profile .-.

Anyways, enjoy the chapter ^.^ More drama is soon to come, BELIEVE ME o-o and yeah , maybe it needs a little more detail (I dunno , you tell me ) but , I stayed up all night editing this! ( it's 3:58 AM! ) So I'm leaving it to this! :3

"I can finally see

that you're right there beside me.

I am not my own,

for I have been made new.

Please don't let me go

I desperately need you."

- "Meteor Shower" by Owl City

**Chapter Eight:**** The Whole Day for You**

Kagome blankly stared at Kikyo as her sister complained about Kagome getting too close with her boyfriend.

"Do you want your face broken? You stay away from him, understand?" Kikyo yelled loudly as their mother watched from a distance, smirking. Kagome scowled at her sister and Kikyo gasped. She then realized her mistake and became expressionless again. Kikyo was surprised, she had never gotten a reaction out of Kagome before. This meant something big. Her mother had made a face and then walked over to the two teenagers.

"Did she just...?" Mrs. Higurashi spoke, staring at her daughter with an interested look.

"She scowled at me?" Kikyo gasped in a dramatic way. Mrs. Higurashi smacked Kagome across the face and sent her to her room. Rubbing her stinging cheek, Kagome quietly closed her door even though she felt like slamming it. She let her guard down, and scowled at her sister. Never again will she let her guard down or stick up for herself with her sister or mother because it would only turn things worse for her.

"Hey, you ok? You look a little shaken up." Inuyasha asked as he sat by the window. Kagome jumped up startled at his sudden appearance and turned to look at him. The day was coming to an end. It was about 9:43 p.m. and Kagome was still upset with Inuyasha after leaving her. She didn't think he'd actually come to see her.

"What is it?" she grumbled lowly but tried to sound nice, he was her friend afterall, and she was afraid he would get tired of her and leave. Forever.

"How come you're acting so calm about this?" he hopped in and scowled at her. Crossing his arms, he sat on her bed. He seemed pissed and Kagome was wondering if she could actually lose her temper with him with him still being her friend in the end.

"Calm about what?" she sighed and sat beside him. She stared at the floor and mustered up all her courage to send him a fake smile. "Nothing's wrong."

"Shut up!" Inuyasha nearly yelled loud enough for his voice to pass through the door, but knew the limit to his voice. He didn't want Mrs. Higurashi coming in and finding him there. "You know exactly what I'm talking about! I left you! And you're acting completely fine about! Get angry with me! I know you're mad! Stop bottling up your anger! Stop acting so cool about it!" he yelled, obviously upset and pushed by her acts. Kagome stared at Inuyasha with a dumbfounded look. He wanted her to get angry with him? She then realized he was just trying to get her to open up more to him. She bit her lower lip and curled her hands into tight fists. She didn't know what to do.

"Inuyasha..." she whispered and hid her face from him. His temper died down as he leaned in to listen to what she had to say. "I... I just didn't want you to..." fresh tears welled up in her eyes and Inuyasha recoiled back. He didn't expect this to happen. He absolutely hated when girls cried, it made him feel so weak.

"K-Kagome?"

"I just didn't want to lose you as a friend." she said, trying to wipe the falling tears off her face. That made Inuyasha feel terrible. He leaned closer to her and sighed.

"Kagome, you're not going to lose me as a friend. Don't worry. I apologize for leaving you today, I'm sure it hurt your feelings and I didn't mean to do that." he told her as leaned lightly on her. She relaxed her tense body before abruptly standing up and letting Inuyasha fall on the bed.

"So then why did you leave? We were supposed to meet on the roof! You leaving with Kikyo just makes me feel like she's more important!" she yelled, her face toward the floor. Her anger had just bursted. She gasped and put a hand towards her mouth. She turned around to look at Inuyasha gawking at her. She took a couple of steps back, cursing the fact that she couldn't run anywhere. "I... I'm sorry." she mumbled through her hand. At first, Inuyasha had been thrown back by her sudden burst of anger, but was happy she showed that side of herself.

"Why're you apologizing? You have every right to be mad." he grumbled, looking to the side. Standing up, he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. It was a bold move, considering they were only friends for such a short time, but so much had been happening. He was happy they were becoming closer. "Kagome, can you meet me at the roof again tomorrow? Same time." he told her and she gasped in surprise. Her eyes were wide and her heart swelled up with happiness. He was still her friend.

"Okay." she murmured into his shoulder. She closed her eyes and a smile crept onto her face. She now knew she could do anything when Inuyasha was around.

Kagome had been lost in thought all morning that Tuesday. Sango stared curiously at her as Kagome continuously sighed. She thought something was wrong and wanted to know what was up.

"What's wrong, Kagome?" Sango asked, tapping Kagome's arm lightly. Kagome slowly turned to look at her. She was worried about that man she had seen yesterday. How had he known her sister? Kagome had a bad feeling about him. Kagome bit her lower lip and explained the story of the evil man through writing towards Sango. Sango's eyes widened as she looked across the room at Kagura, the girl Kagome had seen yesterday with the man.

"Wow." Sango gasped, "What do you think he wanted?"

'I don't know. That's why I've been thinking about it all morning...' She wrote for her friend. 'That and what's going to happen with Inuyasha on the roof.' she thought to herself, slightly blushing. She didn't know why she felt so nervous about it when before it was no big deal. She wished she could tell Sango the way her friendship was growing with Inuyasha so that her and Sango's relationship could grow as well, but decided against it. Miroku and Sango didn't even know she often used her voice around Inuyasha. She scribbled on her desk with her led pencil and stared at Sango for any ideas she had to offer about the situation.

"Hm. Well, maybe they knew each other in the past?" Sango suggested and Kagome nodded. It was something at least.

After class, Kagome walked slowly towards her locker. Sango had run off to find Miroku. Being the flirtatious man he was, he might've had some dirt on Kagura.

Kagome opened her locker and dumped her Science books inside. She took out her math text book for the next class and shut her locker.

"Hey, Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled happily, jogging over to her through the millions of students in the hall. She turned to look at him and couldn't help but smile. Most girls in the hallway sent glares Kagome's way for talking to one of the most hottest boys ever. At least Kikyo wasn't there.

"We're still meeting third period, right?" he asked and she nodded, surprised that he was asking as if he was really eager to go. With that, he waved at her and jogged away. Kagome smiled to herself and nearly skipped to her next class.

Again Kagome sped up to the roof like before, convinced he would be there the minute third period ended. When she made it up there, her thoughts made a complete turn. Her fear rose. He wasn't there, and waiting around for him... What if he never came?

She slowly walked towards the benches and sat down. She didn't want to look below again to find him, she wanted to believe he would come and wait, but she still had a feeling of uncertainty. She playfully kicked her feet and thought about what he had said yesterday.

"Kagome, you're not going to lose me as a friend. Don't worry..." his words still echoed in her head. She had to believe he would come.

She stared at the sky and wondered how it would feel to be in outer space. The never ending space, lost in a deep dark abyss. Kind of like how she used to feel, drowning in her thoughts after her father died.

Kagome's fear rose with every tick of the clock. It had now been 16 minutes waiting for Inuyasha to arrive. She stared at the roof door and bit her lip. She tried to calm herself.

'He'll come.' she told herself. 'Or maybe he's with Kikyo...' she thought sadly and looked between her feet. She wore black jeans today and a white tangtop with a long sleeved gray cardigan. She didn't really care about what she wore.

After 25 minutes of waiting, and 35 minutes left of the period, Kagome was convinced he wasn't coming. She sighed heavily to herself and stood up. She walked towards the edge of the roof and looked down, seeing if she could find him. She didn't see him at all.

'He's with Kikyo, I know it.' she thought. She found a helpless rock, and angrily threw it down the edge. She watched as it fell out of sight.

"Kagome! What're you doing?" a voice yelled behind her. She jumped a bit and turned around to see Inuyasha standing by the door, trying to catch his breath. She cocked her head at him. "I- I'm s-"

"It's ok." she replied quickly, cutting him off before he could apologize. She stepped away from the edge and walked over to him.

"Stop saying that. No, it's not ok." he grumbled upsetly and pulled her into a hug. Kagome was once again stunned by this, but decided to snuggle in anyways. She wondered why he was hugging her again. After remembering he could've possibly been with Kikyo, and her lying there in his arms, she pulled back.

"Really. It's alright." she mumbled shyly and made her way towards the bench. Her cheeks a light pink.

'Damn, I gotta stop hugging her. It's just... her scent, it's so gentle and I like it so much.' He blushed at his thoughts and walked over to Kagome.

"Kagome, why were you standing at the edge like that?" he asked in a worried tone. For a mere second, staring at her near the edge like that, a crazy thought popped in his head. He thought she was going to jump.

"Just looking down, is all. I was looking for you. I was convinced you weren't coming." she whispered sadly. She stared at the ground instead of looking up at him. He sighed heavily and sat beside her.

"I tried to come as quick as I could, but then Kikyo came. Sorry." he finally got to say since she never really let him apologize much. Kagome frowned at her feet. So he was with Kikyo.

"It's ok, really." she said for what felt like the hundredth time. She bit her lower lip and started to mess with some dirt around her foot.

"Here. I wanted to give you this." he said, his voice had a soft tone. He walked over to the metal doors and pulled something from the other side. It was a bow. "You're in the Archery Club, and thought you'd might need this." Inuyasha pulled out a bow and handed it to Kagome. She gaped at it, amazed Inuyasha would buy her such a gift. She softly ran her fingers over it's nice curves and grinned widely. It was an icy blue with green vines wrapped around it. It looked ancient and beautfiul.

Kagome jumped up from her seat and hugged Inuyasha tightly. She had to forgive him completely now.

"It's amazing! I love it!" Kagome squeaked loudly, still clutching on to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged back. After Kagome let go, she observed the bow some more.

"Really? I know this shop..." he coughed and blushed embarrassingly. "A shop that has all kind of old stuff like that." he mumbled lowly. He was happy she liked the gift and even more happy she hugged him again. He didn't know why he felt so overly protective and happy around her, but just decided to go with it.

"What? That's amazing!" she squeeled and grinned widely at him. "Thank you so much Inuyasha!" she was delighted. It was another gift from Inuyasha.

"Anything for my best friend." he nervously spoke, saying 'best friend' so she'd know they were to go that far and held a thumbs up, still blushing slightly.

'Best friend...' Kagome thought and smiled brightly.

They talked the rest of the period about nonsense and laughed about every little thing. Inuyasha sometimes getting on Kagome's nerves and arguing, but in the end, they were all in smiles.

'I'm glad Kagome started talking.' Inuyasha thought to himself as the girl talked more about the acient shrine she lived at. He had to find some way to make up for leaving her yesterday, and the bow had obviously been the perfect gift.

"Inuyasha gave you that?" Sango yelled loudly once in the parking lot. Kagome nodded happily as she clutched the bow to her. She loved it so much she never let it leave her sight. Inuyasha couldn't spend the whole day with her, but he could spend after school with her. Kagome had taken a day off work to shop and hang out with Inuyasha.

"Well aren't you two getting friendly?" Miroku smirked and Kagome shook her head at him in embarrassment. Sango slapped Miroku on the arm.

"Shut up! Inuyasha's dating Kikyo, remember?" Sango scolded and Miroku shoved his hands in his pockets. Sango continued to talk with Kagome and Miroku joined in at some point.

'I have to go meet up with him now...' Kagome wrote on her notebook with sloppy handwriting due to the bow in her hand. She waved to them as she walked away.

"I've never seen Inuyasha so happy." Miroku commented as the girl with the raven hair walked away from them.

"What do you mean?" Sango asked, walking with him towards his car.

"I mean, ever since we started school and met Kagome, he seems... I don't know. Better."

"Well remember, he is also dating Kikyo, maybe that could be it." Sango told him as she hopped in to his car. "Now take me home."

"Oh wouldn't it be great if we were a couple?"

"Nice try, ya letcher. Give up, Miroku. I'm not going to like you." she rolled her eyes at her friend.

"But you used to." he pouted and started his car.

"That was then, and this is now. You're still the same letcher, I don't know what I saw in you. You have to stop groping girls, it really ticks me off."

"Why would it tick you off if you don't like me? Are you sure you have no more feelings for me?" Miroku leaned in closer to Sango. Their faces were nearly touching noses. Blushing brightly, Sango pushed Miroku away and laughed.

"Now that I think about it, I think Inuyasha is happier because of Kagome." she held her hands close to her chest and looked the other way. Miroku sighed loudly.

"Think so? But I know he likes Kikyo a lot. Kagome and him are just friends." he told her and drove off, upset with his failure.

As Kagome sat on the bench that was a few feet away from the school's back door, she spotted Bankotsu making his way towards her.

"Hey Kagome. What's up?" Bankotsu asked polietly, sitting beside her.

'Just waiting for Inuyasha.' Kagome quickly scribbled on her notebook.

"Practice just ended. Inuyasha should be coming out soon too." he yawned and stretched, lightly bumping into Kagome.

'Oh.' Kagome thought in her head. She was bored and decided to make talk with Bankotsu. 'So tell me a little about your sport.' she wrote, hoping she didn't seem rude for not actually using her voice when she could.

"Well, it's just mainly about us handling weapons from a different era and such. Things old demons and villagers used to use. Demons, half demons and humans can join but you gotta be strong, and I mean strong. I handle with my Bakyura, and Inuyasha has his sword the Tetsusaiga. I thought it was stupid, how a mere half demon joined our sport at first, but he's quite the match for a hanyou. Not that I enjoy him all that much." Bankotsu grumbled and Kagome cocked her head at him. She enjoyed listening about this sport, but why insult Inuyasha like that? She guessed these two didn't get along well either.

"Well sorry I'm just a mere half demon ya pathetic human." Inuyasha snarled at Bankotsu as he walked up to the two. Kagome was amazed at how he heard them, but then again he was half demon.

"Yeah, a mere half breed." Bankotsu roared back and stood up to leave. "Bye Kagome." he mumbled and walked away. Kagome stared after him and then looked up at Inuyasha who seemed to be sending Bankotsu a glare.

"He's annoying." Inuyasha grumbled and faced his back towards Kagome. She frowned at him. She imagined he was upset about what Bankotsu just said but why should he be ashamed to be a half demon? Kagome thought it was really cool. She then looked down and noticed his sword by his side. It was in it's sheath and she wondered why he brought it out.

"Are we going?" Kagome mumbled shyly not wanting to raise his temper. He nodded and began to walk, Kagome trailed behind with her new bow in her hand.

"You can drop that off in the car." Inuyasha said as they walked towards the front of the school towards his car. Kagome nodded beside him and the silence hung in the air until they made it to his car.

"So why did you bring your sword out? I never see you with it out. And it looks so small..." She asked, trying to gain some courage.

"I need to practice some more at home. Hey, Kagome... Do you like talking to him? _And _Koga?" he grumbled and Kagome stood limp in the seat beside him. She did enjoy their company but should she tell him that?

She nodded and stared at her feet. He scowled and began to move the car.

"Whatever." he grumbled upsetly. Kagome felt bad that she had told them she enjoyed their company, but it had been true. Why lie? She nervously locked her fingers together. "They're both idiots," he ranted on, "I personally don't like 'em. And I don't like you talking to them, either."

Kagome was shocked by what he had said, but also slightly angry. Who was he to tell her who she could talk to?

"Well, I enjoy their company. I can talk to them as much as I want, ya know. You can't tell me otherwise." she huffed and put her hands on her hips. She never complained when he was with Kikyo, no matter how much it bugged her. She also needed to let it stop bugging her.

"Dammit, I know that." he yelled angrily and slammed his fists at the driver's wheel. Kagome was becoming scared with his sudden outburst. "It's just... Those two, you seem to get awfully friendly with!"

"And so what if I do?" Kagome grumbled, her temper rising. Inuyasha growled and kept his mouth shut. Kagome's eyes softened her glare on him and turned her gaze toward the window.

'What's gotten into him?' She thought, placing a hand on her chin. 'I never tell him anything about him talking to Kikyo.' she thought angrily. She had to calm down or else this wouldn't be a fun trip.

"Here it is." Inuyasha mumbled as he stopped by the ancient store he had told Kagome about. The tension between them after their argument got thicker. Kagome decided to lighten the mood and locked arms with Inuyasha, dragging him in. Inuyasha was surprised, but followed along anyway.

"All of this is amazing... I should bring Sango here!" Kagome smiled brightly at all the amazing ancient collection they held in the store. She examined the bows and miko clothing. She wondered what it would feel like to dress up as a priestess.

"This'll do nicely." a famaliar voice lurked that made Kagome shiver. Everytime she was around _him_ she got a bad feeling. She turned to look. Sure enough, it was him. The man with the evil eyes.

Inuyasha immidately looked in her direction as well and growled lowly in his throat. Kagome looked at Inuyasha in confusion and he merely shook his head.

'Such a strong dark evil aura...' he thought to himself. He didn't want that man anywhere near them. He moved closer to Kagome.

"Inuyasha, I have to talk to you." Kagome whispered nervously and pretended to keep looking through the merchandise. Inuyasha eyed her cautiously and nodded. She reeled him out of the store and back into his car. She explained the whole situation with the man with the evil eyes. Inuyasha nodded throughtout the whole story.

"Stay away from him, Kagome." Inuyasha stated sternly.

"You don't have to tell me twice! That guy gives me the creeps... I always have a bad feeling around him." Kagome shuddered and smiled at Inuyasha. "But I have my best friend to protect me!" Inuyasha smiled shyly and blushed lightly at her words. He turned his eyes away from her and on the road so they could continue to wherever else they wanted to go.

'So she can feel his aura too?' he thought to himself. 'But she doesn't know about any of that stuff yet... I wonder what type of girl she is to actually sense an aura. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it.'

"One chocolate, and one vanilla." Inuyasha ordered for them both as they entered the Ice cream store. Kagome loved chocolate as while Inuyasha prefered vanilla. They took the two cones and Inuyasha paid, refusing to take Kagome's money. They sat at a nearby table and began to eat their ice creams.

"I had real fun today, Inuyasha. Thanks for spending the day with me." Kagome smiled lightly and Inuyasha scoffed and continued to stuff his face in his creamy delight. Kagome happily ate her ice cream as well. She was so glad that he came to hang with her when he could've been out with his girlfriend, Kikyo. She wondered if what Inuyasha did for her, such as visit her through her window, he did the same for Kikyo. It made her feel upset, a possible jealous feelings crept up. Kagome convinced herself it was only because Inuyasha was her best friend.

Kagome considered herself sneaky as her mother or sister didn't realize she had skipped out on work. She sat on her bed and kicked her shoes off.

"Dad, I made friends! Can you believe it? I like them all! Especially Inuyasha because he's so kind and you can rely on him. Though he has a temper and can get on my nerves, but he doesn't leave when I get angry! Meaning I can be real friends with him! Isn't that great?" Kagome told the picture of her father that lay on her dresser. Silence came once she finished her sentence, reminding her she was alone again. She used to tell her father everything. She wondered how Inuyasha's family was like. Come to think of it, she didn't meet his parents while at his house. She didn't meet anyone. He couldn't possibly live there alone, could he? She got an awful feeling thinking Inuyasha would be alone and wanted to be there for him like he was for her, but then again, maybe he just had busy parents. She thought about how her friends changed her life, and decided she needed everyone, at least for now. In her head, she went through everything that happened today, and that's when it hit her. The man with the evil eyes, and Kagura!

She grabbed her notebook and pen and rushed out of the bedroom. She completely forgot to tell Kikyo about Kagura! She knocked on Kikyo's door. Kikyo, thinking it was her mother, invited her in and frowned when realizing it was Kagome.

'Kikyo! Your friend, Kagura! I saw her speaking to a man with long black hair and evil eyes. I don't think it's good for you to hang out with her!' she wrote, scribbling fast. Kagome and Kikyo may not get along, but Kagome wasn't heartless. She would never let anyone get in danger, and would save someone when she had the oppurtunity.

Kikyo stared at her words and then laughed.

"You're such a freak. Kagura's my friend, so don't get into my life. I know her better than you. So what? She was seen with a guy, maybe that's her boyfriend." Kikyo gave her sister a cold look and told her to get out.

'But they were talking about you...' Kagome thought, wanting to write the words down but Kikyo quickly shoved her out of the room. If Kagome didn't have an abusive mother, and more courage, she would've walked back in and yelled at her sister, warning her for future reference. But now, Kikyo was refusing to listen, and she couldn't do much about it.

'I'll just have to look out for her.' Kagome thought, placing a hand on her chin. She mentally groaned. She had to look out for her annoying, verbally abusive sister.

"Sounds like a date to me." Miroku told his best friend as they sat in Inuyasha's living room playing old Nintendo 64 video games.

"It was not a date. We just hung out. Anyway, have you heard of him? The guy I told you about." Inuyasha paused the game they had been playing and turned to look at his friend.

"Kagome told Sango about it, and Sango came to me to see if I had any information on Kagura. Unfortunetly, Kagura isn't really the type of woman I'd go after, so I don't have a clue about who he is. I could always try to squeeze it out of her though." Miroku told him, and sipped on his can of cola.

"That man was talking about Kikyo, and not in a very good way so Kagome says." Inuyasha scowled at the image on the man in his head. 'I wonder why... and what he plans to do.'

"By the way, Inuyasha, has Kagome been talking lately? At all? After the incident on Saturday, she still speaks in writing." Miroku asked, wacking Inuyasha's controller to press the start button.

"What? She speaks to you guys in writing?"

"The way you're saying this, she actually _speaks_ to you, but not Sango and I?" Miroku asked, staring dumbfoundedly at his friend.

"Y-yeah." Inuyasha stared at the floor as he thought. 'She only speaks to me?'

"Well then, seems like you two have something going on." Miroku grinned at his friend. "I suppose you could have two women on your hands but, make sure they do not find out. I mean, it'll be hard since they're sisters but-"

"Miroku! Shut up! I'm not doing that! Kagome's just a very close friend. She's my.. best friend." Inuyasha blushed slightly as he looked to the side. Telling this to Miroku was embarrassing, but he was the only one to really tell. Sango would probably soon hear from Kagome.

"Best friend, hmm?" Miroku shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "If that's what you say. Press play."

"Are you accusing me of something? I'm going out with Kikyo, nothing is going on between me and Kagome!" Inuyasha practically yelled. Miroku jumped up and shushed him, afraid they would wake Sesshomaru.

'Kagome and I are just friends.' Inuyasha confirmed to himself. Deep down, he had a feeling he had a wrong weird feeling but he pushed it away. They haven't even known each other for long, then again, neither did he and Kikyo yet they were already dating.

Sango and Miroku could tell something was there between their friendship. They could tell, but the two Inuyasha and Kagome couldn't.

~ * Enjoyed? Your last reviews gave me a lot of new ideas for this chapter and I took a while editing it :o See, your reviews do help me which is why you should do it more often :3 Oh and whoever is a video gamer like meeee , and one who plays all types of video games ( Zelda :D ) then you'd know what a Nintendo 64 is . I have one ^.^

Next chapter , more drama , we'll be finding out exactly who the man with the evil eyes isssss ( as if you didn't know -.- ) Action too ! I can't keep putting fluff in every chapter v.v Sorry , :] Tune in for the next chapter soon :o and lemme know what you think !


	9. Chapter 9

~* Oh guys, I'm so sorry. I was meant to put this up a while ago, but then a whole bunch of stuff happened -.- And I was in pain yesterday, and I was like "Shoot! If I don't put this up soon, everyone'll be mad!" So yes, feel free to be mad with me because you guys have every right to :[ Also, my tumblr is on my profile. And my new Role Playing Facebook is up too! It's on my profile. I roleplay as Kagome, so if you guys want to talk to Kagome, you go on my tumblr or fb :D

"We're coming back, coming back

We'll live forever, live forever

Let's have a wedding, have a wedding

Let's start the killing, start the killing

(Evil Laughter)"

- "A little piece of heaven" by Avenged Sevenfold

**Chapter Nine:**** Investigation**

"Hey Kagome," Inuyasha greeted with his hands behind his head as he saw Kagome in the hall. He wore a black t-shirt with a big white painted slash mark across it, followed with dark blue jeans. She was stuffing books in her locker rather dully, wearing a light yellow sweater and gray jeans. For some strange unknown reason, her mother had seemed extra pissed this morning and took out all her anger on her. It was an odd sunny Wednesday. Why was it odd? Kagome just had a strange feeling.

"Hi." she replied gruffly, knowing well Inuyasha wouldn't care if she was mad and slammed her locker shut. If her mother was to stay mad all week, Kagome would be in for some serious bruises. She sighed and walked with Inuyasha. Although they had gotten closer over the few days, Kagome was still a mystery to Inuyasha. She never talked about herself, or family. But he did learn that she is a fragile, sweet, cute, couragous, determined girl, yet he wanted to know more.

"What put you in a bad mood?" he asked, scowling at her. She tried fixing her messy hair, but winced at the pain. Nearly her entire body hurt, her mother was heavy handed.

"Guess so. Where are you off to?" Kagome asked, sighing when she realized her hair wasn't fixable.

"To see Kikyo." he said casually. Kagome was amazed he could actually last a minute with her. Did he really like her sister that much? Kagome didn't really see much to like about her, then again, she wasn't in their relationship. She didn't know how they acted.

"Oh, well have fun." Kagome said, trying to be as friendly as she could. He nodded in reply and gave a small wave before dashing off.

"Kagome!" Sango yelled from down the hall. She had a green sleeveless shirt and black jeans. She walked up to her friend. "Miroku tried talking to Kagura."

Kagome's eyes went wide with excitement. After that whole incident with the man and the evil eyes, Kagome and Sango have been on their toes about Kagura. Miroku had also been trying to gather worthy information for them. Inuyasha was the only one who seemed to think not much about Kagura, it was the man with her that gave him a bad feeling.

'What did you find out?' Kagome questioned, feeling like a detective as she wrote in a notepad she had in her bookbag. She accidently left her book Inuyasha gave her at home.

"Nothing really. Miroku ended up stroking her butt, and he just got a simple slap in the face." Sango scoffed, "As if she'd tell him anyway. Maybe we should just drop the whole thing. I don't think anythings gonna happen."

'Oh, ok.' Kagome agreed, her excitement dying. She didn't want to argue now.

"Ah, there you two are." Miroku yelled from down the hall. He wore dark blue jeans and a tight gray shirt to show off his upper body muscles. By now, the two girls realized the hallway was empty. The floors dirty as usual and only sound that displayed was Miroku's squeaky sneakers against the ground. They had gym now, so they didn't care much if they missed out on it. Miroku was just going to the bathroom. "So, I found out who that man was."

Kagome's excitment quickly rose again. 'Really? Who is he?' Kagome horribly scribbled as quick as she could while Sango gave her a look. So much for dropping it.

"His name is Naraku. He's Kagura's brother. I squeezed it out of her." Miroku grinned happily as while Sango rolled her eyes at him.

'Naraku...?' She thought, and gave a thumbs up to Miroku. She would try and bring him up in front of Kikyo to see if she knew anything. Kagome walked away, lost in thought of all kinds of schemes. She completely forgot her bad mood, and was now put in a determined mood. Sango and Miroku stared at her as she walked away.

"Why?" Sango facepalmed and groaned, glaring at Miroku.

"What?!" He yelled defensively. He put his hands up helplessly, obviously not knowing what he had done wrong.

"I was just talking to her about dropping that whole crap, and you go and bring her hope as to continue it!" She grumbled at him and started to walk. He walked along with her.

"Sorry. Just thought it would help." Miroku frowned upsetly as Sango smiled.

"It's alright, I guess." she patted Miroku on his back and he smiled. Thinking Miroku would remain serious, like the wise person he sometimes was, Sango allowed herself to stay close as they walked down the hall. After feeling a famailiar feeling on her bottom, she slapped his face hard. "Miroku!"

"You're just too irresitable!" he winced in pain and rubbed his red cheek.

"You're impossible." she angrily commented and blushed slightly at his remark. This Miroku, could he ever change?

^.^

"Hey Kagome." Bankotsu called as Kagome exited the school building. She smiled and waved at him, not wanting to be rude. Preparing herself, she took out her notepad in order to talk. "I'm glad I caught ya, I was getting bored waiting for Jakotsu."

'Why're you waiting for him?' Kagome wrote down. Bankotsu thought it was strange why Kagome didn't talk, maybe she just had a long lasting sore throat? He decided not to push it and just enjoy her company.

"He was supposed to meet me and hour ago, but I don't think he's coming. I was waiting for him to come out of his after school class. Why're you out this late from school?" he asked as they walked together. Kagome was really following Bankotsu direction, and he seemed to be going towards the parking lot.

'I did some makeup test for Mr. Myoga.' she wrote to him and sighed, shaking her head. Once they made it to the parking lot, Kagome spotted Inuyasha far off with Kikyo near his car. Because Inuyasha and Kikyo were together, Kikyo never really took her car to school anymore because Inuyasha would drive her.

"Really? I always see you during lunch, you're never absent. How could you need to make up the test?" he asked, walking her over to his car. Kagome waved it off, trying not to spill out that she sometimes skipped his class. She looked back at Inuyasha, who seemed to be laughing with Kikyo. She frowned. It felt like Kikyo was stealing her best friend away, but she knew that wouldn't happen since Inuyasha said so. Bankotsu noticed Kagome's eye movement toward Inuyasha and scoffed.

"That bastard was your transportation wasn't he?" Bankotsu pointed towards his car with his thumb and smiled, "Hitch a ride with me."

Kagome examined Bankotsu's car, wondering if she could escape it easily if anything were to happen. Bankotsu was strong, and she didn't know if she should trust him. She didn't feel like losing her life yet. After looking back at Inuyasha, and not feeling like walking home, and smiled at Bankotsu.

'Thanks.' she told him and he shook his head.

"No need to thank me," he said, opening the car door for her. Kagome bowed lightly and entered his car. Little did she know, Inuyasha was watching with awe. Why was his best friend entering Bankotsu's car? Kagome had to get a cell phone.

^.^

Normally, if Kagome lived with a normal family, she would've announced her arrival and greeted everyone, but since this was her family, no one would care anyway. She kicked off her shoes and slowly climbed up her stairs. She landed on her bed and sighed. She decided to let her thoughts roam, just not too far. She thought about how she only spoke to Inuyasha yet wrote to everyone else. That would have to change soon, right?

"Kagome." Inuyasha grumbled as he banged on her window. Kagome's head shot up from her pillow and she spotted Inuyasha by her window. She opened the window and shook her head at him.

"Are you going to always randomly pop up by my window?" she asked, stepping aside to let him in.

"Is that a problem?" he snapped, and Kagome scowled at him.

"Well maybe it is! What if I'm coming out of the shower and you come out?" she blurted, but quickly shut her mouth. Her face blushed and she looked to the floor.

"K-Keh! That'd never happen!" the hanyou's face flushed as well. "Anyway," his eyes nervously fidgeted around, "why did you go in Bankotsu's car today?" he asked, changing the subject.

"He was just dropping me off, Inuyasha." Kagome replied, wondering why he even cared. Inuyasha didn't like Bankotsu, and that was probably why.

"Kagome, you don't know Bankotsu! Why would you just trust a stranger like that? I thought you were smarter than that!" Inuyasha yelled at her. You could tell he was furious, but was only worrying about her protection.

"Calm down! It was only a lift home! Did anything happen? No! Bankotsu's a really nice guy!" Kagome yelled back, but she was shrinking away. She knew she shouldn't have gone with Bankotsu, but really didn't feel like walking home. "Would you rather me walk home alone?"

"Yes if it meant you didn't have to ride with him! Really nice guy..." Inuyasha grumbled, punching the wall. Kagome didn't know what to say next. She knew she was the wrong one here. She answered him with silence, and his anger seemed to have calmed down some. He scoffed and turned away from her. Putting one foot on the window, he leaped out. Kagome reached out a hand to stop him, but he was already gone. Her face saddened, and she dropped her hand from being the air. She sighed and walked over to the bathroom to prepare for bed.

'He's really mad...' Kagome thought as she stripped to enter the shower. She felt horrible, and wondered if Inuyasha would even talk to her tomorrow.

^.^

'Where's Inuyasha?' Kagome wrote asking her friends as she sat with her lunch on that following Thursday. She sat next to Sango as usual with Miroku there. Inuyasha wasn't there with them, and he wasn't with Kikyo either.

"I don't know. Something about 'clearing his head'" Miroku held up two fingers to show quotation marks, as his friend usually seemed confusing to him. Kagome wondered what was wrong with him. Was he still upset about yesterday?

"I'm gonna go look for him." Kagome stated. Determined, she stood up in her seat to leave.

"Uh, ok." Sango waved to her friend as she left and turned to Miroku. "Wonder what's going on..."

"Well, Inuyasha didn't seem to be in the cheeriest mood." Miroku commented, sighing at his best friend's behaivor.

"Why would Kagome want to look for him?" Sango wondered, and placed a french fry in her mouth. She didn't know why such trouble was going on. Lunch wasn't about to end anytime soon anyway, so it wasn't really a big deal that Kagome went out.

^.^

Kagome looked all over the place for him, even the roof yet he was no where to be found. Kikyo looked like a lost puppy because she wasn't with Inuyasha, pouting and searching. Kagome wondered if she looked like that. She decided he must've left school grounds. She thought if she should go searching or not. It was fifth period, and it would end in another 40 minutes, and even if she never came back. Might as well, right?

She quickly went to where the exit of the school was, where there would be no security. She pushed the heavy door as hard as she could, hoping it would be locked. Once it opened just a crack, she slipped through and sped off school grounds, searching places he could possibly be. She even passed by her shrine knowing it was dangerous, but still could not locate where he could be. She didn't know why she was searching for him, most likely she wouldn't find him, but decided she wouldn't give up.

When she had searched enough places, she walked to a small river stream and sat by it, under a big tree's shade. She stared at the water and little splashes it caused. She had no idea where she even was anymore. It seems she wandered too much and was pretty sure school was over. She had gotten lost in a nearby forest. Normal people would've been panicking and running, but Kagome wasn't normal. Nobody would care if she had gone missing or not, she knew that much.

"Kagome?" a voice from above startled her. Who could talk to her from above? Was it God? Was there even a God to begin with? Because it didn't seem like he helped her much. She looked up and saw Inuyasha's figure up in the tree staring down at her. Of course Inuyasha would be up in a tree!

"Inuyasha!" she yelled excitedly and jumped up. She was happy to actually have found him, or yet him find her. "Why did you leave school?"

"Dunno. Had stuff on my mind. Didn't feel like working. Why did _you_ leave school?" he asked, jumping down and sitting by the stream next to her. She stared down at him and cocked her head, confused as to what he had on his mind. Gingerly sitting beside him, she spoke,

"Cause I was worried about you."

He blushed lightly and scoffed at her words.

"Keh! I can take care of myself. What is this? The feduel era?" he yelled defensively and Kagome frowned. She shrunk away and stared at the grass between her toes.

"How did you know I was here?" she mumbled and chewed on her cheek nervously. They did have a fight yesterday, and he had every right to be mad. But it was Kagome's life, Kagome's decision. Why did he care?

" Y-your scent..." he stammered out and quickly changed the subject, "So, uh, I guess you're going to be riding with Bankotsu from now on." he grumbled lowly. Kagome gaped at him. Why bring something like that up? She swallowed hard shook her head.

"No, Inuyasha. That was a one time thing!" 'Just because you take me when you can, doesn't mean I can't accept rides from other.' she thought to herself, poking at the small fish that swam in the stream.

"Oh..." Inuyasha replied, feeling slightly stupid. He cursed at himself in his head at the feeling he felt when he saw the two together. But what the hell was this damn feeling?

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked, looking over at him.

Inuyasha sighed heavily and looked over at Kagome, her brown eyes swimming with confusion. Could he really tell her what he felt? No, cause then she would take it the wrong way and then blame herself. "Nevermind." he said and turned to look at the water again.

"Are you okay, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, patting his back. He nodded silently and stood up.

"C'mon, I'll drop you off at school." he said, giving her a hand.

"No." she pouted and stood up on her own. "I'm not leaving you." he seemed in an upset mood and she wanted to talk to him.

"C'mon. You have to go back, I'll be fi-" he paused and whipped his head around. Kagome cocked her head at him as he started growling. It made her nervous and scared. He seemed mad, and had a strange look in his eye.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked, shifting to look at what was behind him only to find no one. What was going on?

"I smell blood." he growled and turned fully around. Kagome trembled at his words. Why would he smell blood?

"Blood?" she asked, placing a hand to her chest. She was scared now, and didn't know what to do.

"Yeah, and lots of it. You stay here, Kagome." Inuyasha sternly told her as she tried to leave. She grabbed his sleeve and yelled,

"No! I'm coming with you!"

"No!" he yelled back. He didn't want her getting hurt. He smelled the stench of the same man they had saw in the store. Now he was sure that man was trouble.

"I don't care what you say!" Kagome yelled angrily and surprisingly jumped on his back in order to stop him from leaving. He sighed heavily, obviously annoyed, but took off with her on his back. He grabbed at her thighs and ran fast. Kagome clutched onto him, for she had not expected him to run with her on his back.

They made it to the school. Inuyasha's nose led them there. There stood Naraku, the man with the evil eyes. He had blood stained on his hands, and an evil grin on his face.

"Someone help! Kikyo's hurt!" an annonymous voice yelled throughout the millions of running students. Inuyasha could hear sirens in the background. Kikyo laid in front of Naraku, blood pouring from her arm. She glared at Naraku but was surely in pain.

"Kikyo?!" he yelled angrily and glared at the unknown man. Kagome slowly got off his back and stared at the man with wide eyes.

"N-Naraku?" Kagome whispered out. She wanted to make sure it was his name, but was also trying to warn Inuyasha of who the man was.

"Oh, Kagome. Do you really remember me?" he chuckled darkly. His voice was deep and creepy. Kagome shivered slightly and began to back away. Inuyasha growled and held an arm to cover her. "It seems your sister is in trouble. Aren't you going to save her?" It would seem that the man knew her. Kagome was to frightened to say more. How could a stranger know her?

"What the hell do you think your doing?!" Inuyasha roared. He was mad enough that the man attacked Kikyo, but now he was talking to Kagome as if he knew her. He didn't want Kagome hurt.

"Inuyasha! Kagome!" Sango yelled, running towards the two, Miroku following behind. "The school was on fire, and we all had to leave the building! It was caused by-" Sango gasped as she looked towards Naraku. She pointed towards him and glared angrily at him. "Who the hell are you?!"

"Someone from the past." Naraku responded but was staring at Kagome when he said it. Just then, a mysterious purple bubble formed around him. "I'll be back." he stated, still staring at Kagome. It seemed she couldn't look away either. She was locked in his gaze, as if he were sucking her in.

With that said, he flew off. Kagome stood dumbfounded as Inuyasha took off to tend to Kikyo. Kagome dropped to her knees, trying to process all of this. Naraku knew her, and she was positive it wasn't a good thing. His eyes were trying to tell her something. What was it? She shook out of her trance and ran to where Kikyo was.

Kikyo lay on the ground, blood on her arm. She cried in Inuyasha's arms. Kagome gaped at the deep scratches the evil man had made on her, at least that's what Kikyo said he did. She was frightened now by how this evil man could do such damage.

"Kikyo, are you ok?" Inuyasha asked repeatedly over and over. He regretted not being there to protect her. He rocked her softly. Kagome knelt down beside her sister and looked at her in the eye.

"Kikyo." Kagome said sternly. Kikyo didn't respond as she shook in Inuyasha's arms. "Kik-yo!" she said more slowly yet with the same stern voice. "Why was Naraku after you? What previous history do you have with him?" she questioned. She needed to know, and fast. Sango and Miroku gawked at Kagome. She was speaking again!

"Kagome! Kikyo's hurt! Leave her!" someone yelled from the crowd that had gathered around Kikyo.

"Yeah Kagome. Right now Kikyo needs rest." Inuyasha agreed. Kagome stood silently. After looking at her sister one last time, she pushed through the crowd and sped away. He wanted to go after her, but Kikyo was wounded, and he had to tend to her first.

Kagome ran to an empty park and sat on the grass. Inuyasha didn't understand. She needed to know who was that man. If she didn't, and wasn't prepared, everyone could be hurt like Kikyo was. That was what Kagome felt. She stared at the cloudy sky. A raindrop fell upon her face. She wiped it away and thought things over. Yes, Kikyo needed rest, but Kagome had suffered way worse due to her mother. Especially the day her father died, but she never got rest. If only Inuyasha knew. If only he understood.

The rain got heavier, and soon Kagome was being poured on, her clothes sticking to her skin because of how drenched it was.

"Kagome." a familiar voice warmly greeted. Kagome turned around and saw the figure of her mother, smiling sweetly and handing an umbrella over her head. "Kagome?" her vision blurred, and her mother was no longer there. It was Sango who was crouching down beside her, holding the umbrella. Kagome felt hot tears spill down her face, but since it was raining, she was sure Sango didn't notice.

"S-Sango." she stuttered out quietly. She got on her knees and Sango helped her up.

"Why'd you run off?" Sango asked, happy that her friend was actually talking to her. Although she sort of knew the reason Kagome had run off. People were turning against her, like Inuyasha and she just felt like getting away. "C'mon, it's pouring. Kikyo's back home. Inuyasha's there too." she put an arm over Kagome's shoulder and Kagome stared silently at the floor.

"Thanks, Sango." she told her friend, as more tears spilled down. By the tone of her voice, Sango now knew she was crying. She didn't know the reason why, but she rubbed her arm for comfort anyway. Kagome seemed to be trying to wipe away her tears, but more kept coming. Sango was like her real mother.

^.^

"Kagome! Get Kikyo some water!" Mrs. Higurashi yelled roughly as she tried to comfort her older daughter. Inuyasha sat beside Kikyo on her bed in her room. He gave Mrs. Higurashi an odd look for pushing Kagome so hard when she could've gotten it herself, but thought maybe it was just because she was worried about Kikyo. Kagome rushed downstairs, her hair up in a bun and got a glass of water for her princess of a sister. She quickly returned it for Kikyo. As Kagome turned her back to them, she scowled. Now that she got a closer look at the wound, she was sure had suffered worse abuse from her mother for _years_. But she never got special treatment. Then again, she wasn't special.

She quietly walked to her room, not taking a glance at Inuyasha at all. She wasn't really mad at him, but she wasn't all too happy either.

Closing her bedroom door, she walked over to her dresser to find a new pair of clothes. She pulled out her long pajamas since Inuyasha was still around and she was probably soon to get more orders from her mother. She walked over to the bathroom. After shutting the door, she began to strip down to her underwear.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha called out as he knocked on her door. He told Mrs. Higurashi he was using the bathroom since when he once told her he was going to check on Kagome, she refused. "Kikyo's hurt, but she'll be better by tomorrow. Just some scratches." he told her, turning the doorknob to enter her room. Why wasn't she answering? The silence was making him anxious.

He silently opened the door, and saw that Kagome wasn't in there. It was strange, he could've sworn he heard the click of her door. He sat on her bed in a dog style position and looked all around, his nose high up in the air.

"This scent. Kagome's scent. It's all over the room." he closed his eyes and inhaled. Her scent was always so gentle.

'I'll take a shower. That way, I won't be bothered with stuff to do for Kikyo.' Kagome thought, and exited her bathroom wearing nothing but her underwear in order to get extra underwear. She hummed to herself a song and opened her drawer. She heard a gasp, and looked around to room, spotting Inuyasha. Her face turned beet red and she screamed, trying to cover up her body as best as she could.

"Inuyasha!"

"K-Kagome!" Inuyasha gasped out to see her in nothing but her underwear. He blushed brightly as she walked in her white panties and white bra that seemed a little bit too small for her breasts. Her mother refused to buy new bras for her, so Kagome had to make the money and buy news ones when she could. She hadn't been buying many bras since last year and but continuously bought panties instead, thinking the bras she had would work for now. He turned away and tried to think of something to say. "I uh.." he couldn't managed to say much. She was right, he caught her coming out of the bathroom, just not naked.

"What are you doing?!" she angrily roared and reached for her towel. She wrapped it around her body and walked up to him, giving a smack to his head.

"What was that for?!" Inuyasha grumbled, and glared at her, his cheeks still red.

"For you coming in and seeing me in my underwear you pervert." she huffed and sat beside him on her bed. "What is it?" she asked roughly.

"I just came in to check on you, but you seem to be having an attitude, damn wench." he turned to the side and kept his eyes focused else where besides her body. She sighed, and punched his arm.

"Listen. That man, his name was Naraku, at least that's what Miroku found out from Kagura. We can obviously tell he's dangerously evil from attacking Kikyo. He said he knew me and was someone from my past." she told him, placing a finger on her chin and staring up at the ceiling, as if in thought.

"Yeah..?" Inuyasha mumbled in a less slightly annoyed tone and turned towards her, looking at her eyes instead of anywhere else.

"The problem is, I don't remember this man. He's not anywhere in my memory." she sighed and turned to looked at him with curious eyes. "Did Kikyo tell you anything?"

"No, she still didn't talk. The only person she's talked to is your mother, and I don't think she said anything to your mother either. Besides, she's still to hurt to start conjuring up things." he stared at the floor and curled his hands into fists.

"You should go back to tending Kikyo." Kagome placed a hand on his shoulder and stood. She smiled sadly at the hanyou before returning to her drawer, grabbing new underwear hidden in her towel for Inuyasha not to see, and then headed towards her bathroom.

"What?" he asked, startled. Why was Kagome asking him to leave so suddenly? "Why?"

"Because I know you're worried about her." Kagome placed a hand on her bathroom's doorknob and squeezed it tight. Would Inuyasha be worried about her wounds if he knew?

"Kagome... Alright. I'll see you later." Inuyasha seemed hesitant, but left anyway. Kagome sighed heavily as he closed her door. She entered her bathroom and took off the rest of her clothing. Turning on the hot water, mixed with the cold, she entered the tub. She poured bubble bath soap into the running water and bright white foamy bubbles appeared. She sat back and thought about everything. She let the water soak her hair and closed her eyes. If she knew Naraku when she was younger, maybe he would be in one of the albums her mother kept. She blew at the bubbles that she cupped in her hands. Most of the albums were Kikyo's, Kagome would've been lucky to at least have one.

'Alright. I'll look through every album.' she told herself. 'But first, I'll finish this bath.' ever since the day she was at Inuyasha's, where her friends saw her body, she didn't pay so much attention to it anymore.

^.^

As she looked through each album, she found nothing. Finally, she found an album that belonged to her, the last album. She looked through her album and smiled at the some-what happy times she had. Soon, she stopped somewhere near the middle to see her, Kikyo, and a boy between them. Kagome looked about the age six while this boy looked ten. The resemblence to Naraku was incredible. She flipped through some more pictures and found one of her and him again, she looked ten and he looked fourteen. Most likely, this picture was before her father died.

'I knew Naraku?!' she screamed in her thoughts. Is that why he knew her? She couldn't remember him at all. Could her mother remember? Who was behind the camera? It could've been anyone, even her dad. And even if it was her mother, she couldn't talk with her. At least she had more things to work with.

^.^

"Kikyo, may I ask you something?" Kagome said as she entered the room. Her voice held no sympathy, and her face was still emotionless.

"What?" Kikyo grumbled upsetly.

"Who was Naraku? Do you remember him?" she asked, holding up the picture of them three as they were younger. Kikyo studied the photo and then sighed.

"Well, in middle school, around 6th grade I dated him." Kikyo turned to look away from her sister. Kagome nodded and waited for her to continue. "I broke it off after 2 months. Guess he was upset."

"Before, or after daddy's death?" Kagome pushed even futher.

"Before. Why do you care?"

But Kagome didn't give her an answer as she quietly left the room. 'Naraku wouldn't attack Kikyo for such a silly reason, would he?' she asked to no one in her head.

^.^

"You think Kagome's ok?" Sango whispered to Miroku as they both stared down at the girl who seemed to be lost in thought. Miroku shrugged and Sango frowned.

"Hey all." Inuyasha greeted roughly as he sat down at their lunch table. He glanced at Kagome, and wondered why she was thinking so hard.

"Maybe she's worried about her sister?" Miroku suggested towards Sango. Instead, since Inuyasha was at her house yesterday, she turned to him and asked the same question.

"Feh! How should I know?" he barked. Sango sighed and gave a flick to his ear. "Ow!" he yelled, glaring at her as he rubbed his ear. But not even his yelp gave Kagome a reaction. She was staring at the floor, mumbling all kinds of things to herself.

Kagome stood up abruptly and slammed her hands on the table. The group looked up at her.

"I need to speak with him directly. This is so frustrating." she grumbled and left the cafeteria. She didn't know why she was pushing this subject on and probably should've left it to the cops, but she couldn't. She once knew this man, and she needed to know more. Inuyasha was becoming worried with Kagome's strange behaivor. Speak with who directly? Surely she couldn't mean Naraku. She knew how dangerous that was, right?

She decided herself. She was to continue investigating until she found her answer.

~ * How was it ? Enjoyed? And you guys are welcome to give me songs ^.^ It would be very helpful. And just because I don't use your song in the next chapter, or such, don't expect me not to use it. I might some time soon :D But review please! I'm so happy I made it to 104 reviews ! 3 I love you all !


	10. Chapter 10

~* Omg, I hate myself. I'm sooooooo sorry you guys that I lost track of my time and forgot to update x.x You can all kill me now, Inu won't protect me ! D': Oh I made a personal Tumblr now :3 So I have Kagome's Tumblr, and my personal Tumblr. Kagome also has a role playing Facebook, everything is on my profile. So if you guys want to talk to me or Kagome, you either go on my tumblr, her tumblr or her facebook ^.^ Here's the chapter : Fluff and improvement on InuKag's relationship ... Don't blame me if it's rushed .

"I know there's something in the wake of your smile,

I get a notion from the look in your eyes, yeah.

You've built to love, but that love falls apart,

Your little piece of heaven turns to dark."

- "Listen to your Heart" by DHT

**Chapter Ten:**** Early snow**

It had been three days, and Naraku never came back. Kagome finally let the subject die down since she could never see him face to face. In the three days that did pass, a lot did happen between her and her friends. She now talked to Sango, Miroku, Bankotsu, Koga, along with Inuyasha of course, but that was all for now. She wondered why everything was changing in her life. Before she had been a cheery child, joy always filled in her voice, then she became a cold lonely silent girl, and now she was a mix between the two. Never really sharing anything of her life, and yet still being happy with friends. At least she talked.

"So, Kikyo's better I see." Sango commented to Kagome. She had thought Kagome was worried about Kikyo and now since Kikyo was back to normal, Kagome had seemed normal too.

"Yeah, she's back to being her usual self." Kagome mumbled and placed her books in her locker. Kagome wasn't worried about Kikyo, she knew she would heal. She was just worried about Naraku. Even though she let the subject die down, it still crept into her mind. 'And Inuyasha's back to being all lovey dovey with her.' Kagome thought sadly. It seemed Inuyasha was becoming more distant. He had been replacing Kagome with Kikyo.

The two girls made it to their next class and the day went on.

Kagome calmed her breath and aimed straight for the target. She held a tight grip on her arrow, and waited for the right moment to release it. Once she did, it landed far to right corner. She sighed and groaned. She was really off today.

"It's alright Kagome." Eri told her and walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. It's not that she was bad, it was that she couldn't concentrate. "Something up?"

Kagome shook her head and smiled, hoping Eri would leave her be. Eri sighed and shrugged, walking away, Kagome never really told her anything anyway.

Sighing again, she decided to focus. She needed to be more clear. She imagined the target Naraku, and it was important to hit him so that he would stop harming others and so she could talk to him. She narrowed her eyes at the target, picturing Naraku. She let the arrow fly and it hit straight in the center, but just for a moment, Kagome could've sworn she saw the arrow... glow.

Kagome looked around for Inuyasha for she had wanted to catch a ride with him back home. Hoping he wasn't with Kikyo, she waited at the back door, where he would come out of practice. She carried her bow and arrows on her back.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled excitedly as he exited the building alone. He smiled and walked up to her.

"Hey Kagome." he wiped the sweat off his face with a small towel.

"Wanna ride home together?" Kagome grinned up at him, and his eyes grew wide. He bit down on his lower lip and looked away embarrassingly.

"Well, I kinda told Kiky-"

"It's ok. I'll go with Bankotsu." Kagome sighed, all hope in her dying. She turned around to walk away but stopped at Inuyasha's growling. Why couldn't he make time for her too?

"Bankotsu?"

"Yeah. You're busy aren't you?"

"Kagome, you seem to like Bankotsu a lot."

"Well excuse me. He's the only one who offers me rides since my best friend can't make time for me!" she blurted out angrily, but instantly recoiled at her words. She stared down at the ground, biting the inside of her cheek. It was silent for a few moments and she started to side step away but his voice stopped her.

"I know." he sounded sad, but Kagome didn't care. It was about time he realized the truth.

"I'll just walk home." she sighed upsetly and looked at Inuyasha who seemed to be thinking. He was torn between his best friend and girl friend. "You know, Inuyasha, sometimes I think you only hang with me cause I look like Kikyo." Kagome joked, though to her, it was a bit true. Inuyasha was always running off to Kikyo, but when Kikyo was busy, he hung out with Kagome. Did she remind him of Kikyo? Inuyasha had taken it a bit too seriously.

"That's not true!" he yelled out, "When I look at you and her, you two are completely different people!" he was upset. Kagome sighed and smiled softly. At least someone saw them as different. Most people expected them to be the same since they were twins, but Inuyasha didn't.

"Nice to know. Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow." she started to walk away, but Inuyasha's hand grabbed her arm.

"You're not leaving with Bankotsu, are you?" he questioned upsetly.

"Who knows? Maybe I'll see him or Koga along the way." she shrugged and mentally rolled her eyes at him. She said that just so he could get upset, so he could see how it felt to be her.

"The wolf?" he growled and Kagome patted his shoulder softly.

"Kikyo's probably waiting." she smiled sadly and he slowly let go of her arm.

"Hey, Kagome!" speaking of Koga, he jogged up to the two.

"Hey, Koga." Kagome smiled at her friend and asked if he would like to walk home with her. She knew Inuyasha would get upset, but at the moment, she didn't care.

"Koga, if you lay _one_ finger on Kagome, I will rip you to shreds!" Inuyasha growled and Koga smirked.

"Don't you got that girl, Kikyo? What do you care?" he wrapped an arm around Kagome's shoulders and the two began to walk away.

Inuyasha couldn't respond to his words but Kagome could hear his growls of anger. She wondered why he didn't like Koga, or why Koga didn't like Inuyasha. She turned to look back at Inuyasha who seemed to be trying to control his temper. She felt bad for leaving him, then again he always left her.

Kagome sat on her bed, thinking. Thinking about everything. She felt extremely guilty for acting mean ealier. She should've never done that.

Why had she started speaking after one whole year of being mute just because of three people? Maybe she was looking in to it too much. Inuyasha and her other friends probably felt sorry for her. Maybe they would abandon her some time soon. The weather was getting colder. Would Kagome go back to being silent?

Now that she thought about it, she could picture herself still being the quiet Kagome she was. Her friends avoiding any contact with her. She really hoped that wouldn't happen again. She was glad she met the people she met. She was greatful she spoke again, and made so many more friends than before. She groaned and laid limp on her bed. She hated yet loved high school. Everything was changing dramatically.

She pulled out her untitled piece of lyrics she had written once and wondered if she should even continue. She neatly folded it and placed it in the notebook Inuyasha had given her. What's the use? She probably wasn't going to sing. She hadn't sang in a while even after her voice returned. She was going to try so many times but ended up doing something else.

'I know! I'll write down a list of everyone who's my friend.' she smiled at her idea and quickly began to write the list.

- Inuyasha

- Sango

- Miroku

- Shippo

- Bankotsu

- Koga

- Eri

- Yuka

- Ayumi

That was the end of the list. She couldn't think of anymore. She didn't really speak to her friends in the archery club, but they were nice to her. She tapped her chin with her pen lightly. She really wanted to spend a lot of more time with Inuyasha since he was supposed to be her best friend. She actually considered him more of a best friend than Sango since she talked with him more. They had a bond, and although Sango was her best friend as well, Inuyasha seemed to be more... special for some odd reason. She didn't know why she felt that way, but that's how her heart put it.

'I wonder what he's up to now. He's probably still upset. I don't know why he gets all upset like that! I don't complain when he's with Kikyo.' she thought upsetly. Opening her window for some fresh air, she peered up at the night sky. The stars twinkling in the sky down at her. She started to hum a song she knew and decided to finally give singing another try.

"Four years old with my back to door, all I could hear was the family war.. Your selfish hands always expectin more, am I your child or just a charity award?.." her voice trailed off to a silent hum. She stopped because her thoughts began to invade her mind again. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she recalled the events of her fathers death, that, and every horrible thing her mother did to her. Then she thought of Inuyasha, and how he was also being idiotic and mean.

'Stupid Inuyasha. Why do you make me so upset?' she thought angrily, making her hands into tight fists. 'Why do you always go running off to _her?_ She's cruel, can't you see?' she thought, tears prickling in the corner of her eyes. She sighed and dropped the subject. They were dating, how could she even think such nasty thoughts? Sure Kikyo was cruel, but Inuyasha liked her. She didn't even know why she was so jealous.

The cool breeze invaded Kagome's room and she shivered slightly as her eyes began to get sleepy. To lazy to close the window, she glanced sleepily at the clock and realized it was 8:00 p.m. Her eyes fell shut and she was fast asleep with the window wide open.

Kagome stirred silently as she felt heavy material on her. She hadn't put the covers on and it was freezing in her room. She sat up straight and looked beside her to see Inuyasha sitting on the floor with his back turned on her. He looked like he was guarding her.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome mumbled sleepily as she rubbed her eyelids. He turned around and shook his head at her.

"Tch. It's 10 now. I decided to stop by and chat but you were sleeping with no covers on and the window wide open. Are you trying to catch a cold?" he grumbled and stood up, dusting off his pants.

"Oh, thanks." she blushed shyly, as she remembered what she had thought about before sleeping. Inuyasha wasn't so bad all the time. He made her feel special. He would come visit her on random nights just to talk and that made her feel like a princess locked in a tower waiting for a hero. He had cheered her up and made her speak after a whole year of not speaking. He cared for her when she was injured. And even though they would have fights, they still made up in the end. So much had happened over such little time...

"Kagome? What's wrong?" he asked, his voice in panic. Her eyes were beginning to water. He hated it when girls cried. Although, he was happy she was brave enough to cry in front of him. She turned her head away from him as she gathered her insane thoughts. No, she couldn't actually be falling for him could she? Inuyasha wasn't a bad guy, but he was dating her sister! And just that thought made her want to gag. She was just really happy she had him as a friend, it's just, the problem was she was slowly liking him more as a friend. A light crush had been developed without her even knowing, or maybe she did know but never wanted to admit it. Is that why she always got so jealous? She was so confused.

"I'm... just happy you're here." she sniffled silently, wiping away the tears that began to fall. She wasn't crying because she realized she might've liked him, she was crying because she realized he could never be hers. He couldn't like her like that. He couldn't, _wouldn't_, like a freak like her. He liked Kikyo, and went through any trouble to be with Kikyo, so she had no chance, meaning she had to drop the silly crush now.

'But didn't he go through troubles to see you too?' a little voice asked Kagome in her head. She wanted to push that little voice away. She didn't even believe Koga was actually into her. All these people who were her friends were probably all just feeling sorry for her. She was getting too sucked up into this social life.

"Yeah, well, I wanted to talk about what happened today." Inuyasha coughed a bit at the awkward silence. Why was Kagome crying? He could smell her tears and if she were happy, why wasn't she looking at him. He didn't want to push the topic, he wanted to see her smiling. She tried to brush away every tear before finally turning to face him. Her face was a light tone of pink.

"What's up?" she tried, smiling weakly. Her dark thoughts were starting to kick in. 'He doesn't care for you. He feels pity towards you.'

"Well, I'm sorry I left you earlier and that you had to go with that scrawny wolf, Koga." he growled at just saying his name. She was surprised he apologized so quickly and without hesitation.

"It's alright. Kikyo needed you, right? You made a promise to her." she was starting to cover herself up now. She couldn't believe she had almost cried in front of him. A dark shadow crept over her as a brick wall. Her face showing no emotion towards him.

"Yeah but that doesn't mean it was right to leave you. Look, I know I constantly go to Kikyo and you don't like it very much..." his voice trailed off, not knowing what else to say. He knew this conversation was going to be hard and very much did not want it, but knew it had to be done. He wondered why Kagome wasn't smiling, frowning, or even giving him an angry look. She was just staring with a blank look, almost looking bored.

"It's okay." she replied in a dull tone.

"No, it's not." he grumbled angrily at how calmly she was taking this. What was she exactly doing? Then it hit him, she was locking herself up. "Kagome," he said sternly. "You don't have to hide anything from me. You can be honest with me." The look on his face was enough for Kagome to forgive him. She sighed and slumped against the wall.

"I just want you to make time for me too." Kagome felt like she was saying something very selfish. Her pure heart hated anything to do with pain and dark feelings.

"And you are not wrong for feeling any such way." he grabbed her hand and sqeezed it gently. She blushed lightly and smiled at him, giving a weak squeeze in return. "I promise to try and make more time for you too. You are my best friend, after all." he grinned at her and she wanted to melt in his smile. She couldn't stay mad at him for long. She abruptly wrapped her arms around his neck and he returned her embrace by locking his arms around her waist.

"Inuyasha...?" Kagome mumbled silently and he made small circles with his thumb onto her back.

"Yeah?"

"Are... are you glad we met?" she was afraid to ask such a question, but she wanted to hear his answer.

"Of course, Kagome." he wondered what brought this on.

"E-even if I'm a freak? Even if I get mad at you for stupid reasons? Even if I get you mad by spending time with people you don't like?" her voice was crumbling and he could feel her tremble slightly. He tightened his hold on her.

"You're not a freak. I don't regret meeting you. I get you mad too so it's only fair for you to get me mad, right? Don't worry, Kagome." he soothed. Maybe she was just tired.

"Y-you won't leave me right? Our friendship is real, right?" she pressed on. He chuckled softly and realized just how long they had been hugging. He pushed away and looked her in the eye. Tears had formed there.

"I won't leave you. Our friendship is very real. Don't you worry, Kagome. You can trust me." he smiled warmly at her and she returned the smile. She needed to be sure. If she couldn't have him, she'd rather have him as a best friend rather than they be strangers.

"Thank you." she mumbled quietly. She backed away from him on her bed and stared at her hands embarrassingly.

"You better get to sleep," he told her embarrassed figure. He was just as embarrassed that they had even hugged for tha long, making his cheeks lightly pink. "Goodnight, Kagome." he said, jumping out the window.

"Goodnight, Inuyasha..." Kagome watched him hop out, her face flushed. She was so happy on nights like these where he would visit and they could speak happily with no inturruptions. But after today, realizing her feelings for the young man, she was afraid of the future she was headed for.

Would she crumble?

"Hi!" Kagome smiled brightly, not a fear in the world. She giggled lightly in her bright summer dress and reached out a hand to the boy she was greeting. "My name is Kagome! I'm six! I live in a shrine, I like to read and write. I sing too! My birthday is on..." she rambled on as the stranger stared at her. "What's your name?" she finished in a rush.

The boy took her hand. He looked about the age ten with broken eyes and a sad sorrow.

"N-Naraku..." he stammered out, blushing lightly at the younger one.

"Why ya here alone, Naku?" she tried out the name which was a little too difficult for her little self to pronounce.

"Cause I like coming here, got a problem?" he grumbled to her. He crossed his arms and blushed even more.

"No problem, Naku. Want to be friends?" she grinned cheesily as Naraku stared at her dumbfounded.

"F-friends?" he stuttered out nervously.

"Yeah! C'mon. We can go play hide and seek." she tugged on his hand and he silently followed.

"Kagome? Kagome?!" Sango's voice filled Kagome's ears as she picked up her head from her desk. She sleepily rubbed her eyes. What was that just now? A dream about Naraku? Was that a previous event that happened in the past? The more she tried to remember it, the more it faded away.

"Yeah?" Kagome yawned and stretched a bit in her seat.

"2nd period is over. Are you going to 3rd?" Sango was gathering her things and Kagome blushed as some people stared at her. Sango had yelled pretty loudly and she was sure most students saw her there sleeping. She had never fallen into deep sleep like that before.

"Um, no..." Kagome answered after some time. Someday Myoga was going to get real mad for her always missing his classes, but he actually really liked her. 'Inuyasha's meeting me on the roof.' She thought, smiling to herself as she exited the classroom with her friend.

"I wonder where you go all the time." Sango muttered and waved to Kagome who left with a teasing smile.

She rushed up the stairs, eager to beat Inuyasha and stare at the wonderful scenery, but to her surprise, Inuyasha was already there.

"That's odd. You've never beaten me before." Kagome commented and sat on the usual bench.

"True. But today is special. Why? Because I'm going to show my best friend just how much I care about her." he grinned at her, blushing and pulled out a small box. He handed it to her and she gasped at the sight of it. "You haven't even opened it yet and you're already gasping?" Inuyasha chuckled some more.

Kagome slowly opened the box to reveal a gold ring with green vines wrapped around it. "Wha..." she trailed off staring in awe at the present.

"It's a friendship ring. See? I have the boy one." he held up his hand to show her his gold ring with a green symbol on it she couldn't quite tell what symbol. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, after, planting a small kiss on his cheek. He blushed and she pulled away, a small tinge of pink on her cheeks as well. She slipped the ring on to a perfect fit.

"Funny. Cause I have a something for you too." Kagome giggled sweetly and he cocked his head at her. "Here." Kagome said pulling out a gold locket. She opened it to reveal on one side a picture of him and on the other, a picture of her. "Remember that day we decided to spend together and we stopped by a photo booth to take pictures but we ended up arguing and pictures of us like this came out? Well since it was the only picture we had together, I cut 'em out and put them here." She placed the necklace over his head and let it fall around his neck. "Promise you'll wear it always."

He reached for the locket. "Thanks." he mumbled, examining the locket. She shrugged and smiled brightly. She felt so happy at that moment.

A small cold white snowflake landed on her nose. She looked up towards the cloudy sky and saw the small white snowflakes come down slowly. She smiled and whispered softly, "It's snowing."

"Yeah, and so early too. Its only the middle of September, well near the end anyway.." he smiled up at the sky too. He then looked back at Kagome. He felt so happy at that moment, even happier than he was with Kikyo, but didn't know why, not like he'd ever admit it. Kagome just had that effect on him, where he could always be happy around her.

"Care to dance?" Kagome smirked at him teasingly and stood up.  
"In the snow, with no music?" he shook his head at her. "You're a freak."

She laughed at his comment. "I know." She tugged him to his feet and started humming the song 'Beauty and the Beast' as they started to dance. Kagome felt like a princess again. Alright, so maybe he didn't feel pity for her, but she wasn't quite sure. But right there, dancing with him like idiots, it was special.

It was one moment those two would never forget.

~* Believe it or not, early snow actually did happen to me before when it was really cold. It came around October.. I live in NY , :p For those thinking "oh my god! She likes Inuyasha!" well, it's a crush, not a deep love or like. She just really appreciates what he does for her and she thinks she likes him because of her feelings when he's with Kikyo or because of how happy they are together. She still prefers him as a best friend at the moment and that is all they are right now. Their relationship is improving slowly and they're just best friends. That's all they see each other as. Kagome can't really picture herself as Inuyasha's girl friend, she can't picture herself anyone's girl friend. She can't even picture anyone liking her. So when the time comes for her to really like him and they have that type of relationship (like in the anime) I'll let you know. I hope you enjoyed it ! Go talk to Kagome now :3 Tumblr or Fb , on my profile! Oh and review! 3 I love you all .


	11. Chapter 11

~* Okay all. Now you seriously hate me. But I have an excuse! See, the wifi I was using at my house was my friend's, but she moved , So the wifi left. I couldn't really update the story, see. And I also had huge writer's block. Most of you probably stopped checking for updates with the story and such, and for those that didn't thank you 3 I'm really sorry again. Expect late updates because of lack of wifi. Oh but I'm writing a lot new stories and I might even consider putting them up :3 Who likes Zelda?

"How can you see in to my eyes

Like open doors?

Leading you down in to my core

Where I've become so numb."

- "Bring me to Life" by Evanescence

**Chapter Eleven: **** The Worst**

Kagome swore she had a smile on her face every time she was with her friends. School made everything so much better for her. It was home that was the problem.

She gripped the bow tightly in her hand, swallowing hard. Her father's death anniversary was coming up. Every year, she would do something special to remember him. Her mother would spend the day drinking, trying to fight away the pain and then ended up taking her anger out on Kagome. Kikyo would stay in her room, locked up. Kagome didn't really know what she did in there.

She thought about all the things she could do for her father's anniversary. She spaced out for a moment, before realizing she still was at practice. She looked around to make sure none of the girls had noticed, which they didn't. Sighing, she locked her eyes on the target and shot an arrow. It hit just slightly outside of the center, meaning she was getting a lot better. Her father would've been proud of her.

She was thinking about him a lot lately.

Waving at the girl's was her signal she was leaving class early. She headed towards the locker room and went into one of the bathroom stalls to change. After changing back fully into her clothes, she exited the locker room and headed towards the hallways. It was empty, of course because classes hadn't ended yet.

She went to her locker to put her clothes away, her fingers easily putting in the combination. She placed everything she didn't need inside, a small picture of her father on the side. She picked it up and hugged it, as if it were her real dad there. After a few moments, she placed it back inside. Maybe she would cook his favorite meal, and eat it in her room, talking to him.

The bell rang. She slammed her locker shut and tugged her book bag to her next class.

~(^o^)~

"That girl... What's her name?" some girl whispered in the halls.

"I think it was Kagome." the other girl answered.

"Right, her. She's too quiet, and real weird. Maybe she's some kind of physco." she laughed. Sango swore her head was going to explode. She was ready to smash a fist into so many of these snooty girls. She had been hearing so much about her friend Kagome, it was making her sick. Such idiotic people.

"Easy Sango," Miroku tried calming her, holding her arm back from going towards the gossip girls.

"It's not fair. They don't even know her like that." she grumbled out, snatching her arm away from him.

"They're just young women who gossip. Every girl does it. Ignore them, we know it's not true." he shrugged. It would get him upset at times too when some things were just utterly ridiculous, but he remained calm, as always.

"Still.." she mumbled, glaring at the girls from a distance. After walking in silence, Sango's eyes locked with another's. It was a male boy with short black hair and pointed ears, with bright blue eyes. "Hey Miroku, who's that?" she asked, wondering if he knew. She most certainly never met him before.

Miroku looked over to where Sango was pointing and shrugged. "I don't know. Never met 'em." he studied the new boy, hoping Sango wasn't taking an interest in him. "Why?"

"Because I never saw him around before." she tilted her head, wondering if he was a new student. "Let's go greet him!" she smiled.

"You just want to talk to him because you think he's cute." Miroku pouted, stopping in his tracks. Sango rolled her eyes and tugged at his arm.

"C'mon, what if he's lonely?" Sango told him, now taking notice the boy really was cute. "Hi there!" she yelled out before he could leave. Miroku groaned and followed her towards him.

The boy stared at the two approaching him with blank eyes, as if wondering why people were coming towards him.

"What's your name?" Sango smiled, sticking out her hand for him to shake. "My name is Sango. Are you new here?"

The boy continued to stare at her, his eyes locking onto her's again. He had a blank look, and Sango was becoming drowsy, dizzy and lost. She nearly collapsed to the floor, until Miroku caught her in time, his eyes widening.

"What the hell are you?" he glared at the new boy, holding Sango in his arms. Clearly this guy was no human. "There are school rules about using your demon powers!"

"I go by the name Hotaru." the boy said lowly. "Please do not bother me." he told him, and walked around Miroku.

"Miroku!" Kagome yelled out after seeing him, Sango in his arms. She quickly ran over, worried for her friend. "What happened?"

At hearing her voice, the boy, Hotaru, stopped in his tracks and glanced back. Once spotting Kagome, he turned fully around and walked back over towards her.

Miroku noticed the boy's movements and stood protectively in front of Kagome. She was on the floor, helping Sango become stable again.

"Leave us alone, Hotaru. I believe we've had enough of your actions." Miroku held out a hand to stop him. Hotaru simply ignored him and quickly went around, grabbing Kagome off the floor. He lifted her up and leaned forward, placing a kiss on her forehead. She made a small sound, blushing hard and wondering what the hell was going on. He pulled away, a smirk on his face. Turning around, he simply walked away. She stood there, dumbfounded at what just happened.

"Eh..?" she touched her forehead. She didn't know who that guy was, but she didn't get a good feeling out of him. "W-Who was that?" she asked, turning towards Miroku. He seemed just as surprised.

"His name was Hotaru.." Miroku glared at the spot he was once in. "He doesn't seem too friendly, especially when Sango tried being nice. But... do you know him?" Kagome shook her head. "Then I have no idea why he'd kiss you." he shook his own head.

Her heart was pounding, still trying to understand what happened. Never had anyone done that before.

Inuyasha walked over, both hands behind his head. "Oi, what's goin' on?" he asked, furrowing his brows. He smelled an unfamiliar scent, Kagome was blushing and Sango looked dizzy. "Did something happen?"

"Some guy just came and kissed Kagome on her forehead." Miroku explained, shaking Sango's body.

"He what?!" Inuyasha choked out. "W-Who?!" he yelled out, his mouth dropping open.

"S-Some guy named Hotaru, b-but I don't even know him!" Kagome clutched a hand to her chest in embarrassment, her cheeks still red. Inuyasha curled his hands into fists.

"Another pervert? We already have Miroku." he grumbled out, his eyes directing over towards his friend.

"Hey!" Miroku yelled out defensively, Sango finally feeling better.

"Why're you so mad, Inuyasha? Maybe he just liked Kagome or something." Sango rubbed her head. "Still, he's bad for using his powers in school. I wonder why he did that." she grumbled.

"That still didn't give him the right to kiss my forehead!" Kagome squeaked.

"Or for him to put you to sleep." Miroku commented.

"Bastard." Inuyasha growled. He didn't know why he was so mad. Perhaps he was just afraid of Kagome getting into trouble, and this guy did not sound like someone good.

After school, Kagome walked home alone. She didn't feel like catching a ride, she just felt like walking in the quiet. Her father's anniversery was Friday, and that day, it was a Wednesday. She thought about today and who the stranger was that kissed her head.

Maybe she was giving out too easily. She was talking too soon, perhaps? Letting her guard down to easily? Otherwise, she would've never ended up in that sort of scene. She sighed and rubbed her forehead again. Sure, the guy was attractive, but that didn't mean she enjoyed his sudden kiss.

When she finally made it home, she saw her mother opening the fridge, probably shoving in more beers for Friday. She quickly rushed upstairs and sat at her piano. Let her play a song about how she felt that day.

She began to play anything she could think of. Then, another idea popped into her head. She would write a song for her father!

Rushing to her drawers, she pulled out music paper and a sheet of loose leaf. One to write the piano music, and the other to sing the words. She quickly began to think of the melody, but had a hard time thinking of the words. After being halfway through the music, she promised to finish it tomorrow. She stood from her seat and placed the music away.

Landing on her bed, she groaned at the fact that she had work on Friday. But that was alright, it was how she was going to pay for the ingredients for her father's favorite meal.

~(^o^)~

Kagome walked out her front door, early at 7 in the morning. She was leaving early to school because she didn't want to deal with her mother's mouth about her father's anniversary. She let the wind blow her hair off her shoulders, wondering if she should buy a bike. It would make things a lot easier.

When she made it school, she was pretty surprised to see Inuyasha at his locker, placing his jacket away.

"Inuyasha!" she called out to him, and he turned to look her way. "What're you doing here so early?" she asked, tilting her head.

"I had stuff to do in the morning and decided to leave early." he yawned, scratching his head. "But I'm real tired."

She smiled at his sleepiness, ruffling his hair with her fingers. They walked around a bit, not really sure where to go. He wasn't picking up Kikyo that morning, so he had all the time until class started to hang out with Kagome.

"Hey.. Inuyasha?" Kagome spoke when they headed towards his car at 7:32 a.m. to just sit and do nothing. He glanced at her, muttering a "what" in question. "C-Could you possibly drive me to work after school Friday? I know you have to drive Kikyo around but, I could really use a lift." she asked, poking her two fingers together. She knew she had to ride with Kikyo, but she'd rather do that than walk to her job which was a pretty long distance away from the school.

"Sure. I could drop ya off." he told her, unlocking his car and getting in. She got in on the other side, the passenger's seat.

"Really? Thanks!" she grinned.

They spent the rest of the time they had together talking, because they normally couldn't talk like that with Kikyo always hogging Inuyasha. It made her happy. Maybe this would turn out to be a good few days, if luck was on her side.

~(^o^)~

Walking in the school's parking lot after school with her bow clutched in her hands, Kagome was glad the day was over. Tomorrow would be the anniversery of her father's death. It made her kind of nervous to go home at the moment, because she was sure her mother would start to run her mouth, but she promised to finish the song. She began to hum the melody, trying to think of other beats to go with it.

For some odd reason, she felt like she was being watched. She continously kept checking all around her just to be sure she wasn't. Everyone had left the school grounds, she was forced to stay an extra hour for making up tests.

Sighing, she rushed on home. When she finally made it there, her mother was sleeping. She was happy about that, and went up to her room to finish the song. She spent so long on that song, but when it was finally done, she felt so warm inside.

The next morning, she woke up pretty late and had to rush. This was just horrible because it meant she would be late to school. Before she left her room, she stared at her father's picture and whispered, "I love you."

Running to school, she promised herself to get a bike. Once she made it there, late as suspected, she was told to have detention after school. She tried to speak with the teacher, Totosai, that she had a job and asked if she could make it up, but he refused.

She walked into the hallway feeling glum. Well this day started off badly. When she made it to her locker, she met up with Sango.

"What's wrong Kagome?" Sango asked, noticing the upset look on Kagome. She explained about what had happened, but shrugged it off. Sango told her Totosai was a strict teacher.

During archery practice, the string of her bow broke. It scared the crap out of her, and she dropped her arrow on the floor. The tip of the arrow also accidentally scraped her arm when she dropped it. Why was this day turning out to be so bad? She still had after school to look forward too.

When after school finally came around, she groaned at the fact that Inuyasha must've left her because she was an hour late due to detention. She tugged her heavy book bag and started leaving the school's parking lot.

"Hey," a deep smooth voice called out to her. She turned her head, and saw the same boy that kissed her forehead. She felt her face become hot, meaning she must've been blushing. She backed away, furrowing her brows at the stranger. No way was she sticking around.

"What's the matter?" he frowned, moving closer towards her. "What? Are you upset about the kiss?" he chuckled, scratching the back of his head. She stopped in her tracks, wondering just who the hell this guy was. He seemed nice towards her, but she had to remember he attacked Sango. "Need a ride?" he asked, pointing towards his car. She resumed her actions and started backing away. What if he was some killer? Then again, she shouldn't judge others. Still... He gave her the wrong feeling.

"Kagome." Inuyasha greeted, placing an arm around her and glaring at the new guy, Hotaru. "I waited for you." he told her, still sending protective eyes at the boy.

"I-Inuyasha." she murmured, finally feeling completely safe. She relaxed her tense attitude and watched as Hotaru glared right back at Inuyasha.

"No need to give her a ride." Inuyasha told Hotaru sternly. Hotaru sent him angry eyes, but shrugged and walked away.

"See ya around, Kagome." he placed his hands in his pockets and left.

Kagome tugged at Inuyasha's sleeve. He was growling.

"Inuyasha.. I never told him my name..."

~(^o^)~

Inuyasha drove Kagome to her work, Kikyo not being in the car because she left when Inuyasha told her he would wait for Kagome. When they made it there, Kagome departed with Inuyasha. He promised to pick her up at 6:30 p.m. which was when her job ended. She entered the restaurant and walked into the kitchen.

"Kagome! There you are." Hojo greeted, walking over to her. He seemed to have a worried look on his face, and it made her nervous. "We uh.. have a problem. Well, the manager needs to speak with you." he scratched the back of his head and Kagome swallowed hard, nodding at his words. She headed towards the manager's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in." the stern voice said and she stepped in. "Kagome. Please have a seat." the manager spoke not too kindly. Kagome quickly sat in a seat. "Kagome, I've gotten reports of bad customer service from you because you are mute. Now, I am not saying that is a problem, but in order to have this job, we need happy cheerful employees that are nice to the customers. Also, you're late today and have been missing out on some days of work... I'm sorry but I'm going to have to let you go." he sighed, rubbing his forehead. Kagome's eyes widened. She was shocked, her heart sank. She needed this job. The problem was, she wasn't brave enough to speak and beg for the job. She wasn't brave enough to talk to any of those strangers who were customers.

Nodding, she exited the office and walked out the front door, ignoring Hojo's calls. She sat at the front steps and sighed. How could she buy new clothes now? How could she buy her dad's favorite food? Inuyasha couldn't even pick her up now because he thought her job ended at six. She was stuck there.

After two hours, Inuyasha finally came. Kagome's butt felt numb and when she entered the car, she was silent. He gave her an odd look while she stared out the window away from him.

"You alright, Kagome?" he asked when they stopped at a red light.

"I got fired." she simply stated. His eyes widened in surprise.

"Why?"

"Too quiet. Not friendly to customers." she sighed.

"That's fucking stupid!" he grumbled, hitting the steering wheel. When the light turned green, he continued on his way.

"Could you stop by the super market?" Kagome asked. She only had a small amount of money, enough to buy her dad's meal. She was going to save the money since she just got fired, but decided to buy the food anyway. It was her dad's anniversary.

"Sure. Why?" he asked, curiously. He made a left turn, towards the nearby supermarket.

"I have to get some things." Kagome refused to tell him about her father. She didn't tell anyone about him. When she bought the food, Inuyasha dropped her off at home. She rushed upstairs, her mother already drunk on the couch. She went inside the kitchen and put the bags on the kitchen counter. She started to prepare the food, realizing she was missing something and probably left it in Inuyasha's car. She groaned, but continued to make the meal anyway.

"Kagome! Kagome!" Mrs. Higurashi screamed, entering the room. "What're you making?" she narrowed her eyes at her daughter and clumsily walked over. "What the hell is all this?" she burped. "I didn't give permission." her mother scowled, taking her beer bottle and spilling it all over Kagome's cooking. She cackled and dropped the bottle on the floor, breaking it to pieces. "Clean that up." she grumbled and smacked Kagome across the face, exiting the kitchen.

Kagome felt like breaking down to tears. Her cooking wasted. Her money finished. She quickly swepted the glass on the floor and threw it away. Her mother came back in a few moments later.

"You bitch! I just realized something!" her mother grumbled out, punching Kagome in the gut. She was sent down on her knees. "You were making _his_ meal! I recognize the food." her mother's eyes were beet red, meaning she was drunk as hell. Mrs. Higurashi yanked Kagome's hair hard, slamming her face into the wooden cabinet. Kagome's head started bleeding, the blood rushing down and dropping at her chin. "Die, dammit!" her mother yelled, kneeing Kagome in the face. Kikyo rushed downstairs and removed her mother from the kitchen, without saying any words to Kagome.

Kagome was in pain, her nose bleeding. She wondered if it was broken, but she couldn't tell. Her face was becoming numb, and it was hard to move. She tugged herself upstairs and locked herself in her bed room. She crouched into a ball in the middle of the room and began to cry, rocking herself.

"I'm sorry." she continously mumbled to no one, her blood dripping on the floor. She couldn't complete her promises to her father. The only thing left was the song, but she didn't even feel like playing anymore. She felt weak and sick.

A knock came at her window, making her freeze. No doubt it was Inuyasha, who else would it be? Perhaps he had come to return the food. She heard the window open, and his gasps. He quickly rushed over to her, forcibly lifting her head up from being crushed into her knees.

"Kagome, what happened?" he asked worriedly, his eyes filled with caution. Who ever did this to her would pay. She wouldn't answer though, and just continued to shake her head. This was the worst anniversery ever. "Kagome..." he wrapped his arms around her and held her close, not caring if the blood stained his clothes. Who would do this to her. He could feel her tremble in his arms.

"I-I-Inuyasha." she finally spoke. He stared down at her.

"Yes?"

"I need to get a song. I need to let him know I'm sorry." she sobbed. She decided to sing his song after all, for an apology in not being able to do anything else.

"Who's song?" he asked, staring into her eyes. She was crying, and the blood wouldn't stop flowing from her nose and head. "Let me clean you up first." he walked into her bathroom and grabbed a towel, when he came back out, she was shakily holding a paper in her hands. "Kagome.."

"D-Dad's song." she crawled over towards her piano, Inuyasha quickly rushing after her. He sat beside her, wiping the blood away.

"Your dad?" he asked once he was done.

"I wrote this for him." she didn't feel like getting too much into details now. She began to play the melody, singing with the tune.

_"You used to call me your angel_

_ Said I was sent straight down from heaven_

_ And you'd hold me close in your arms_

_ I thought of the way you felt so strong_

_ I never wanted you to leave_

_ I wanted to you to stay here holdin' me_

_ I miss you, I miss your smile_

_ And I still shed a tear every once in a while_

_ And even though it's different now_

_ You're still here somehow_

_ My heart won't let you go_

_ And I need you to know_

_ I miss you, (sha la la la la)_

_ I miss you_

_ You used to call me your dreamer_

_ And now I'm livin' out my dream_

_ Oh, how I wish you could see_

_ Everything that's happenin' for me_

_ I'm thinkin' back on the past_

_ It's true the time is flyin' by too fast_

_ I miss you, I miss your smile_

_ And I still shed a tear every once in a while_

_ And even though it's different now_

_ You're still here somehow_

_ My heart won't let you go_

_ nd I need you to know_

_I miss you (sha la la la la)_

_I miss you_

_I know you're in a better place, yeah_

_But I wish that I could see your face, oh_

_I know where you're where you need to be_

_Even though it's not here with me_

_I miss you, I miss your smile_

_And I still shed a tear every once in a while_

_And even though it's different now_

_You're still here somehow_

_My heart won't let you go_

_And I need you to know_

_I miss you (sha la la la la)_

_I miss you, I miss your smile_

_And I still shed a tear every once in a while_

_And even though it's different now_

_You're still here somehow_

_My heart won't let you go_

_And I need you to know_

_I miss you (sha la la la la)_

_I miss you.."_

Kagome ended, her hands a little shaky although she played every key correctly. She mushed her hands in her face and began sobbing again. Inuyasha was amazed at how amazing her voice was. Seeing her sob again made him upset. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer towards him.

"Kagome.." Inuyasha spoke softly. "That was amazing."

"Y-You think he liked it?" she asked him quietly.

"He loved it." Inuyasha told her, hoping to make her feel better. He still wanted to find out who did that to her, it made him pissed. "Kagome... Who hurt you like that?"

No answer.

"Kagome, please." he begged, his voice almost a whimper. He didn't want to see her that way ever again. She answered,

"M-My mother..."

~* So what did you guys think? Sorry I left the cliffhanger, it's that I'm afraid you all won't come back if I don't D': Please stay with my story, even if updates take a while ;~; Who could Hotaru possibly be, hmm? Friend or foe? And when will Naraku make his next appearance? How will Inuyasha react to Kagome's confession? I have everything planned out :D The next chapter will be Chapter Twelve: The Worst part two. Stay tuned! :3 Review please. Oh and a little hint, if you guys constantly bug me (say on facebook or tumblr) to post up a new chapter, it will motivate me. Trust me. Scolding me about that won't be a bother, it'll help a lot. I hope you all enjoyed. :3 Oh and I didn't go over this story, so sorry if there are any mistakes. The song, yes it's a little kiddish because it's from a child's show or whatever, but it felt like the perfect song to go with what Kagome was feeling. Any who , thanks again c:


	12. Chapter 12

~* Hi guys ! Let's just all pretend you don't hate me, and this'll be a good chapter, alright ? :3

But if you'd really like to hear my reason, here it is: Laziness, stress and Tumblr. I've been too lazy to actually get up and go to a library to post the story, sorry D: And I've had tons of stress with school and my best friend ._. Lastly, Tumblr is always distracting me ,

Well, here is what you've all been waiting for.

"How do I live without the ones I love?

Time still turns the pages of the book its burned

Place and time always on my mind

I have so much to say but you're so far away."

- "So Far Away" By Avenged Sevenfold

**Chapter Twelve**: **The Worst Part II**

Silence. It rang through the entire room, in fact, the entire house. She wouldn't look at him, meaning she couldn't tell his expression. The birds outside chirped, and Kagome thought perhaps they'd lighten the mood. There was no going back now. She already blurted it out and was scared as to how he would react. He wasn't saying anything. The silence pained her. Was this how others felt when she didn't answer them? She kept her head facing the floor, studying the dark cracks and lines carved in to the brown wood.

"Kagome…" He spoke, his voice only but a whisper. She didn't dare look up, though. She was too afraid. She started to count the cracks on the floor now, her foot lightly outlining them. She heard him stand, the floor creaked. "Your mother does this to you?" He sounded angry and that was one thing Kagome feared for. She quickly looked up at him, her eyes scanning his face. He was snarling, his fangs exposing out from his sealed lips. His mind was roaming through his thoughts. It all made sense then.

'I'm so stupid!' he yelled to himself, 'How did I not see it before?!' He punched the bed, driving a hole through the mattress. He threw his hands up in the air, letting them run through his hair as an attempt to calm himself.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" He yelled, and Kagome flinched at the sound of his voice. He blew out breaths of air, clenching his jaw. She looked up at him and he could clearly see the fear she held in her eyes.

"I wasn't supposed to tell anyone…" She murmured softly, chewing on her lower lip. Inuyasha kicked nothing in particular and let his foot stomp on the floor.

"Kagome, you should've told me anyway! I'm not letting her get away with this. For turning you like that." He growled, walking towards her door. She jumped up, sprinting towards him. She grabbed his hand and pulled him back, and he let her.

"No, Inuyasha! Stop! If you say anything, my mother will kill me!" She yelled at him, closing her eyes as she clung to his arm in order to prevent him from leaving. As if she could hold him back.

"Tch. As if I'd let that happen!" He pulled his arm away from him, causing her to jump back. He sighed and turned to face her, placing a hand on her cheek. "Calm down, will ya?" He told her harshly, yet his hand gesture made it seem soft. "I'm not going to let her do anything to you."

But the minute you tell her and leave, she will kill me! She will! She wanted to scream but her voice remained stuck in her throat. If Inuyasha shout out at her mother, and then left home, she'd be in for it. Even if he said he wouldn't let anything happen to her, how could he be so sure? He couldn't take her away from home.

Inuyasha could see she wasn't convinced, yet still went and opened the door.

'I'm going to die…' Kagome thought to herself, remembering the warnings her mother had given her if she told anyone what she did. Inuyasha stomped down the steps, Kagome following silently behind him. Kikyo had opened her door to see what the noise had been all about and saw Inuyasha in their house.

"Inu!" She beamed brightly, running over to him and clutching on his arm. Inuyasha turned his head to look down at his girlfriend and gave a disgusted look.

"Did you know? Did you know what your mother did to Kagome?" He asked and her eyes widened as she turned to look at Kagome, who kept her eyes directed to the floor.

"W-What? I don't know what you're saying, Inuyasha!" Kikyo told him, frowning. Once again, she was feigning innocence. Kagome didn't want to look up at the two; she knew she was in danger because she let out a secret like that. She didn't know how he would've reacted. What a fool she was thinking he'd keep it a secret.

Inuyasha studied the face of his girlfriend, trying to see if she held honesty in her eyes. How could anyone not see the damage done to Kagome and they lived in the same house?

"Kikyo…" He furrowed his eyebrows at her, pulling his arm away. She looked heartbroken and it all made her pissed off at Kagome. Of course she couldn't be the usual mean Kikyo she had always been to Kagome, she had to act sweet and nice or else Inuyasha just might let her go.

"I swear, it isn't my fault! I wasn't allowed to tell anyone! Our mother abuses us both, but I put up with it more than Kagome. She just gets really depressed about it. What if I'm depressed too, Inuyasha? And I just hide it all behind a smile?!" She grumbled out and crossed her arms. Kagome looked up quickly to look at her sister. Liar! She wanted to scream. You're such a liar! But again, she kept her mouth shut. Their mother spoiled Kikyo rotten, could Inuyasha not see that with all the nice things Kikyo had?

"Well, it's going to stop." Inuyasha told her, wrapping his arm back around her and kissing her forehead. Kagome was sick. How could her sister go and do something like that? Wouldn't it all backfire on her anyway because he was going to confront their mother now?

He looked all around on the ground floor, sniffing out their mothers room. Once he found it, he kicked the door open with his foot, the knob of the door slamming in to a wall and creating a round hole.

"You bitch!" He snarled and Mrs. Higurashi quickly stood from her bed to send him a glare.

"Watch who you're talking to, young man." She told him sternly, as if she were scolding him. Inuyasha scoffed, walking closer towards her.

"Keh! You really think I care? You're not my mother." He growled, "If you ever dare to lay one finger on these two girls, you're dead!" Her eyes widened as she sent her eyes towards Kagome and Kikyo. If looks could kill, Kagome would be dead. Kikyo stood there chewing on her lower lip in nervousness while Kagome's eyes remained outlining the floor's cracks as before.

"What're you talking about?! I do not touch my daughters!" She yelled back at him, scratching her teeth together. "How dare you threaten me?"

"So you're just telling me those marks made on Kagome came from nowhere?" He bawled his hands in to fists, as if he were ready to punch the teeth out of her mouth for lying so much. "You better hold on to that tongue lady, before I rip it out of your mouth!"

"She does that to herself! Kagome has always been a crazy child!" She told him, becoming fearful of the half demon's threats. He could easily kill her, she knew that. "No matter how many times I try to stop her, she doesn't care! She continues to hurt herself for no reason! I think it's because her father died." Mrs. Higurashi explained harshly. Kagome bit her tongue to keep herself from yelling right back at her mother. Everything was lies with her family.

Inuyasha looked over at Kagome, who remained silent. He wanted to ask if it were true, she had always been strange from the very beginning, but why would she lie? To cover up for herself?

Everything had grown silent, and it made Kagome worry even more. Her heart was racing silently in her chest. She looked up to see Inuyasha looking at her. You don't actually believe her, do you? She wanted to ask. Why wouldn't her voice come out? After all the speaking done in school, did she still refuse to speak in front of her mother? Was she still afraid even with Inuyasha there? She hoped he could read the answer in her eyes.

"Those words are lies, woman." He growled looking back at the mother. Of course they were. Kikyo had agreed with the abuse. "I'm not letting you hurt them again."

"Ha! What're you going to do about it? She lives here with me. Alright, I hit the girl, so what? She deserves it." The mother scoffed, crossing her arms.

"I'm talking about both of them." He glared at her, his eyes sending daggers in to hers.

"What?" The mother confusedly looked over at Kikyo. "I don't hit Kikyo. If anything, I give her everything she wants. It's Kagome who's the bad child." She narrowed her eyes at the half demon, looking at him as if he were crazy. Inuyasha turned back to look at Kikyo.

"What the fuck is with all the lies here?" He asked her, clenching his jaw. She looked away from him, biting on her lower lip. She was stuck, unable to explain herself.

"Get out of my house, half breed." Mrs. Higurashi huffed at him, pointing towards the exit of her bedroom. He glared at her again, grabbing on to Kagome's arm.

"Fine, but Kagome is coming with me." He pulled Kagome out of the room, she staggered to follow. "Go pack your things, Kagome." He told her sternly, moving her towards the staircase. "I'll wait outside of your door for you. You're not staying here." Kagome wanted to know what he had in mind, but kept quiet. She obeyed his commands and went to pack her things. She took one of her old suitcases and stacked it with clothes. After collecting all her items, she stared at her father's grand piano and sighed. She couldn't take it with her.

She walked over to it and touched one of the keys, then ran her fingers through all of them. That was her goodbye. She walked over to the door, placing her hand on the door knob. When she opened it, her mother's face was her greeting. She was punched in the face, sending her down to the floor. What happened to Inuyasha?

"You stupid bitch! Burn here!" Mrs. Higurashi yelled, taking her lighter and lighting Kagome's mattress on fire. She exited the room, leaving Kagome to deal with the fire. Kagome struggled to stand and sprang up to her door. No matter how much she tried to open it, it wouldn't budge. She was stuck in there. The fire began to spread, and Kagome feared for her life. She ran and sat atop her piano, the suitcase at her side. She clutched her knees to her chest as she wondered what to do. The fire was surrounding her, smoke filling her lungs. The window, it was covered with flames meaning she couldn't get to it.

"I knew it." She murmured to herself. "I'm going to die." The smoke was too much for her. She tried to take in small breaths, but ended up coughing out the smoke. The thick dark gray smoke covered her vision and she could no longer see anything. The last thing she heard before she passed out was the sound of the window being broken.

~(^.^)~

Kagome awoke in a soft cushioned bed. She could recognize the material as she ran her hands through the sheets. Where was she? What happened? She tried to open her eyes, but the blinding light had caused her a head pain. Her throat felt dry, she needed water.

"I feel so sorry for Kagome…" She heard a voice, soft and feminine. Whose voice was that? She believed it was Sango's.

"She's safe now." Another voice answered. Kagome could tell these voices were getting closer.

"Yes, but she's been through so much." The feminine voice replied, and was now at least five feet away. Kagome heard steps and was afraid to move. It was as if she were a child pretending to sleep. She felt a hand on her forehead. "I hope she gets better soon."

"She's strong." A third voice came in. Kagome tried to open her eyes again, her head was spinning.

"Kagome!" Sure enough, Sango stood before her. She had a bright smile on her face, tears glistening in her eyes. Kagome heard a couple of more people rush in the room to look at her, and she then saw familiar faces. Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango. But who was the man behind Inuyasha? She could recognize Rin, the nurse, beside him.

"Kagome, how're you feeling?" Inuyasha asked with worried eyes. She gave a light smile, for she had forgotten everything that happened. She rubbed her throat as a sign for her needing water. Rin handed her a glass and she drank it cautiously.

"I'm fine…" She croaked out a little uneasily. She tried to sit up, but Inuyasha's arm kept her down. "Where am I? What happened?" She asked.

"Ah, it seems she has trouble remembering what happened." Miroku commented, chanting a silent prayer.

"Give her time." Rin smiled, waving her hand. "This happens to most people." She went over to check the girl's temperature. Kagome observed the guy who stood, watching intently. She didn't know who he was, but he seemed to have long white hair as Inuyasha but instead of dog ears, pointed ears, like Koga.

"Who's that…?" She murmured quietly to Inuyasha. He looked back at the man and sighed.

"That's Sesshomaru, my older brother." He said rather harshly. Kagome nodded in acknowledgement. She didn't know Inuyasha had an older brother.

"It seems she's alright. Why was I called here?" He spoke, the man named Sesshomaru. His voice seemed so calm, yet stern.

"In case she died, you would've used your power to revive her, remember?" Rin whispered quietly to the lord, but unfortunetly, Kagome caught her words.

"Died? Why would I have died? Please explain to me what happened." She shrunk away, fearing the worst. She didn't care if she spoke in front of Sesshomaru, she was freaking out.

Inuyasha frowned.

"Kagome… Your mother tried to burn you."

~* Sorry it's so short and rushed but I wanted to get this up for you guys asap. I'll work on the next chapter and get it up as quickly as possible. Sorry it took so long this time… Review 3 I love you all. And the requests about me updating faster helped. Trust me. I was killing myself about it. Thanks for sticking with my story! :D


	13. Chapter 13

~* Guys , I'm freaking out. Why? Because I HATED my last chapter. I feel as if it was one of the worst chapters ever because of how rushed it was and all of the mistakes , Never again! So I promised to make up for it in this chapter that I hope you all will enjoy~ I worked so hard on this chapter just because I feel like I let you guys down in the last one. I'm most likely going to go back soon to edit it, and I even started working on chapter 14 just to get it in early for you guys. I'm soooo sorry for the last chapter guys. I'm disappointed in myself, and was so scared to look at your reviews [ Really surprised you liked it o.o ] that I waited until I was done with this chapter to look at it. Sorry ;~;

I added lyrics to Chapter 11 and Chapter 12.

I seriously have to go back and edit that last chapter , Errrrk. Enjoy the early update! ^.^ [ Sorry again for the crappy chapter 12 , this is how we writers feel after a crappy update. And it took such a long wait to end up with such shitty results… D: ]

"I can almost see it,

That dream I'm dreaming.

But, there's a voice inside my head saying

'You'll never reach it."

"The Climb" – By Miley Cyrus

Chapter 13: Are the Skies clearer?

Kagome had been locked up in that same white room all day. She ended up there after a conflict with her mother she hardly remembered. Only during certain times would small parts of the entire situation come back to her. She was still coping with what happened.

_"Kagome, your mother tried to burn you."_

Inuyasha's words rang in her head. Her mother really tried to do it? It scared Kagome as she thought about what could've happened to her. What was going on now, she wondered; back at home with Kikyo and her mother? So many questions that could not be answered and it pissed her off. She remained hidden under the covers. Sango would come in and out, trying to get Kagome to nibble up some food, but most of the time she refused. How long had it been? Nearly a whole two days in that room. A day had passed where Kagome didn't talk to anyone. Now they were in the second one and she still refused to move. She couldn't handle it, she couldn't handle the reality.

She wanted to shower. She wanted to eat. She wanted to be happy or perhaps just normal. But she couldn't and she knew that.

The door creaked open, the sound blasting through Kagome's ears. It bothered, perhaps that was because she had been in silence all day.

"Kagome…" It was Inuyasha. She hadn't spoken to him since yesterday, or rather yet, seen him. She bit her lower lip. She didn't want to see him, not like that. Her breath must've smelled horrible, and her hair was no better. Her eyes, which felt dried out from all the tears, she could tell felt heavy and possibly had dark bags under it. She looked horrible, even worse than she normally thought she was. "You… Are you feeling better?" He sighed, feeling like he was talking to nothing but air as he stared at the big lump under the white sheets. Didn't she get sick of staying in that bed? He didn't like it too much in hospitals, and his own personal one at home still didn't have his approval. He quietly walked over to her, shutting the door behind him.

She remained silent. Did she want to talk to him? Yes… Maybe she was just afraid, but what was there to be afraid of?

"Kagome," He sat on the bed, and reached out towards her. He was hesitant, and then pulled back his hand. He couldn't possibly understand how she felt. She lay frozen, her back towards him. There was a lump in her throat. Could she really not speak? It felt comfortable not speaking like she used to. It was like the day her father died. She remained silent, crying the entire time, speaking to him through her thoughts. It was as if she didn't believe it happened and she'd wake up to find out it was all a dream. Was she still waiting to wake up from this dream?

The room was silent for a few more moments. Inuyasha continued to stare at her, and she could practically feel his eyes on her.

"Please… Talk to me…" He whispered out, almost like a whimpering child craving attention. She didn't want to speak, at least not then. She wanted to continue in silence.

She let her hand crawl out from under the covers, shifting a bit so she could face him. His hand that lay on the bed, she let her hand wander over to it and place hers on it. It lay limp there, and she couldn't see his reaction, but his hand managed to lightly squeeze hers.

"Do you remember anything? Anything at all?" He asked softly, glad she made some type of contact. She did, but only minor events. Could smoke really tamper with your memory? Or maybe it was all the head beatings from over the years that messed up her memory. Either way, she could only remember the fire.

Crawling out from the covers, she sent a peek, revealing only her eyes. The light burned it, stung it like needles piercing her broken eyes. She gave a small nod and he smiled, a smile that sent her warmth.

"I wanted to explain to you what happened… Why I wasn't there for you, outside your door where I said I would wait, but you haven't remembered that much, have you?" He asked, sending her an ashamed frown. In his eyes held an apology. She shook her head and crawled back under. He was waiting for her?

Questions were bouncing in her head. Mainly: What exactly happened? Rin had told Inuyasha not to tell Kagome anything and let the memory come back to her. Something about "helping maintain a stronger memory recovery". If he simply told her the events, she wouldn't try to remember, and could never really know what happened. She'd only picture it.

She could feel his weight lift from the bed and his footsteps walked over towards the door. She could hear the door open, and she nearly yelled for him to stop, she didn't want him to leave. She wanted comfort, but how could she possibly tell him that?

"Kagome… I… I'll talk to you later." He sighed again, exiting the room. She was greeted with that painful silence. Closing her eyes to rest them from the burn of the light, she drifted back off to sleep; a dreamless, meaningless sleep.

~(._.)~

Kagome awoke when it was slightly less bright in the room. She guessed it was the middle of the day, if not, near the end. She was thirsty and craved water. Poking her head out from the covers, she nearly squeaked at the sight of the same man- who Inuyasha called Sesshomaru- sitting on a chair beside her. His golden eyes were watching her as if she were some kind of pet. The lines on his face, those stripes, his ears, and the crescent moon symbol on his forehead all too familiar from the day she first laid eyes on him, only yesterday. The features, and his obvious white hair as bright as Inuyasha's, clearly yelled "I'm not human!" She quickly recoiled and hid once more, hoping he didn't take a good look at her.

"So, you're afraid." He spoke, his voice just as deep as before. Her heart pounded in her chest. What was with this guy? Why was he staring so intently at her to the point where she could feel his eyes? "Human, what was your name again?" He asked, almost as if expecting a reply immediately. She felt that if she didn't respond, he'd hurt her. "Still refuse to speak?" He rested his cheek on his hand. "I do not care. I was just curious…" He told her.

Why're you here? I don't know you! Leave me alone! She wanted to scream. This man, despite his gorgeous looks, he looked like a huge threat. Especially since he called her "human".

"I was told, or yet begged," She could hear the smirk in his voice, "to come here. My half-brother, that annoying half breed, requested I came because your health was low and he feared the worst. You seem fine to me." No, she needed water. She was dehydrated. "Seeing as how I am not needed, I shall go." She could hear him stand; the chair squeaking announced his movement. "But know this, girl… You're no ordinary human. I presume you're fine, so stop acting as if you're not." There was a low rumble, possibly a growl escaping his lips. Was she really acting like she wasn't alright? She wasn't asking for this attention… Was she? Was she really trying to feel special? She could hear him exit the room, the door slamming. She felt it was safe to move then.

She sat up, her head feeling heavy. The vision she had of the white room was quickly covered by black and green dots. She remained still, her hands supporting her on the bed's surface, until she could see again. She stood up from the bed and walked over to the door, her legs wobbly. She locked it, the familiar click ringing like an echo throughout the silent room. She walked to where the sink was a rack of plastic cups nearby. She took one and filled it with cold water that was devoured through her lips, sliding down her throat. When she finished, she took this opportunity to observe the room. Was this the same room she had been in when she fell off the swing? It sure looked like it.

She looked over to her bed. What was that object near it? It looked dark and gray, the edges slightly burned. She walked over to it, letting her fingers roam over its warm material; her suitcase.

She opened it to reveal her small pile of clothes she had packed and dug around for her toothbrush. Once finding the small blue object, she cleaned it off and searched the cabinets for toothpaste. For some odd reason, she missed her room, she missed her bathroom. She missed that small room that contained everything she loved, everything she needed. It was her private room to isolate herself. So many memories that room held, and now, it was burnt down. After finally finding the toothpaste, she brushed her teeth, scrubbing hard. She looked in the mirror that was behind the door and stared at herself; what a mess.

Taking her brush out of her suitcase, she washed it with water and began to brush her hair. Was she planning to leave that room? Was she planning to leave the bed that held her warmth? Her stomach rumbled. What other choice did she have?

After fixing herself up to what looked decent, she opened the creaky door and peeked out to see if anyone was nearby. It was a long empty hallway. Doors were on each side. Were they for other patients? She tip-toed out of the room and walked quietly down the hall, flinching every time the floorboards creaked at her steps. She made it towards a pair of double doors. Placing her hand on what felt like a frozen handle, she pushed it open. She was greeted by Rin pushing a cart full of gloves, needles, and alcohol swabs.

"Ah, Kagome!" She beamed, causing Kagome to shyly blush and direct her eyes elsewhere. "You've finally come out. Are you looking for your friends? I could call Inuyasha for you-" Kagome quickly shook her head. She wanted Sango right now. Only her. "So then what do you plan to do? Would you like me to call one of your other friends?" She asked, tilting her head. Kagome nodded, biting her lower lip. "Sango?" She nodded again. Rin patted Kagome's head and went on her way. "Wait there." She told her, pushing the cart around the corner, possibly to another patient. Who else was there besides Kagome?

She waited as told, afraid of moving elsewhere. She wanted Sango; she wanted her real mother figure. After a couple of moments, Sango came bursting in through another pair of double doors on the opposite side of the doors Kagome came from. She ran towards Kagome, wrapping her arms around her. She held her like a small child. Kagome stared ahead behind Sango, her arms laying limp at her sides. She felt so warm, so happy, at least for that moment. She didn't want to leave Sango's arms. Blinking a couple of times, she slowly brought her arms up to hug Sango. A lump formed in Kagome's throat as her eyes started to water.

"S-Sango…" She mumbled out, her voice sounding raspy, croaky perhaps. She began to tremble, all of her emotions coming out at once. The tears she had been holding, all of the warm liquid had rolled down her cheeks. She buried her face in to the other girl's shoulders, sobbing uncontrollably. Sango only pulled her closer, closing her eyes as she made circles in the girl's back. She hushed out a "shh" to help Kagome, but it only made her sob even more. "M-Mom…" She cried out. "H-Help me…"

~(._.)~

Sango sat with Kagome in the kitchen, placing a plate of chicken wings and fries covered in a sweet pink barbecue sauce for her to eat.

"Eat up!" Sango smiled, sitting beside her. Kagome's eyes were red and her cheeks puffy. She began to slowly take pieces of food in her mouth, before stuffing it in hunger. "Woah, slow down!" Sango giggled, helping Kagome take small bits. "You'll choke." Kagome nodded, a small blush on her cheeks which was hardly noticeable since her cheeks were already pink from all of the upset crying. She ate at a steady pace, and once she was finished, she got up to wash her hands. "So Kagome, want to go play some video games? I know this great game I'm sure you'll love!" Sango cheered, tugging on Kagome's hand. She didn't want to speak about what Kagome had been through, not yet. She wanted Kagome to smile and forget her pain, at least for a little while. Kagome let a small smile creep on her face and followed Sango.

They both made it to the movie room, plugging in the Wii system Sango inserted a game that said "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" on it. Kagome was curious as to what it was. She never really played video games like that, but she would if she could. Sango handed her a controller, explaining the movements of the game.

"You fight. See, hold the control like this. That's to jump, and this is to attack." Sango sent her a bright smile as she explained. After finally figuring out how to use the controller, they both lost themselves in the fighting.

About an hour and a half later, Miroku strolled in through the door.

"K-Kagome!" He didn't actually expect to see her there. She turned around towards him, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Shh!" She scolded and then directed her eyes back at the screen. She and Sango had been doing a long two player adventure, and the scenes were playing. Sango giggled as she gave Miroku a grin. He grinned right back and sat beside her, watching the screen as well. He didn't want to disturb, especially since Kagome looked so happy. After growing tired, both girls quit the game and lay on the floor.

"Who knew you were such a gamer, Kagome?" Miroku asked, sending her a smirk. She blushed and shrugged, sitting up to tie her hair in to a pony tail. Miroku looked at Sango, his eyes asking if Kagome was remaining silent for a while again. She sent him another smile, clearly not getting his question. Oh well. It was better than having her locked up in a room all day. "Oh, and Kagome?" Miroku called out to her and she sent her eyes towards him, raising a brow to ask what. "You're not going back home… Er… Ever." He placed both his hands on the ground and shrugged. "Inuyasha won't let you go back, not after everything that happened. You're staying here, apparently." Sango smacked his arm. She didn't want to bring it up until everyone was around. Kagome gave him a blank look, blinking and shrugged, obviously not caring. Was she hiding emotion? No, she just simply didn't know what to feel then. Relieved? Happy? But all the same time scared. What if her mother came for her? Inuyasha didn't have a legal document to keep her there. He could've been accused for kidnapping, and even if the court found out the abuse Kagome suffered, they'd most likely send her to a shelter.

"Kaaaaaagooooomeeeeee!" A familiar voice yelled, its loud pitched scream ringing in her ears. She turned her direction towards the door and there saw Shippo run towards her. He jumped in her arms and snuggled himself, causing Kagome to nearly fall back from his impact. She smiled down at him and rubbed his back. "I smelled you from the minute I came in! Did you miss me? I missed you." He frowned, looking up at her.

"Sh… Shippo." She sent a weak grin, and his eyes widened at hearing her voice for the first time.

"Kagome, you spoke?" He beamed brightly. "I looked up why you wouldn't speak, and found out you're "mute" but that's okay! You're talking now, and you sound beautiful." He grinned, exposing his small fangs as his fox tail swayed. She nodded, a blush on her cheeks. Beautiful? Surely the kid's ears weren't working.

She looked up to see Inuyasha silently stand by the door. She swallowed hard as she stared up in to his eyes. He seemed happy, but almost… betrayed. She could literally picture him say "Why didn't you come to me first?"

"I brought Shippo over… I thought you'd might want to see him." He spoke quietly, walking over towards the group.

"Liar! I asked to come, and Auntie Izayoi said I could. She said you had to pick me up." He furrowed his brows, pointing at the half demon.

"Shuttaup." Inuyasha grumbled, smacking the kid on the head. Shippo whined, hopping away. Inuyasha's eyes never managed to leave Kagome's, though. "Kagome… Can I speak with you?" He held out a hand to pick her up from the ground. She took it, her nervousness growing. She began to follow him out the room before he abruptly stopped and turned to glare behind her. She turned to look back and noticed everyone else was following.

"_Alone._" He said sternly, his eyes burning holes in them. They moved back, sending nervous laughs.

"Of course, Inuyasha…" Miroku laughed a bit, scratching the back of his head. The two walked out and Inuyasha led Kagome through the huge house. She didn't know where they were going, or why Inuyasha wasn't saying anything, but she had to remain patient.

"Kagome…" He stopped in the middle of a long hallway, the walls looked like a red carpet and she could've sworn if she placed her hand on it, it'd feel like one too. "I'm glad to see you're doing better… I… um…" He bawled his hands in to fists and turned around to look at her. "I'm sorry, alright?" He scratched his teeth together, clenching his jaw in anger. "I shouldn't have left you like that! I'm so goddamn sorry!" He punched the wall. Kagome grabbed his arm, pulling it away so he couldn't harm himself. She sent him a small smile, and he seemed to calm down. "I… I know you probably don't remember, but just know I'm sorry, alright?" He gripped her shoulders. "Why didn't you come to me? I wanted to speak to you…" She sighed and stared down at her feet. They were painted a light blue from a couple of days ago when bored in her room.

"I…" She didn't know. She just wanted her mother figure, Sango. She wanted someone to cry to, and the best part was, Sango didn't even question it. She knew she could've done it with Inuyasha too, but somehow it felt right with Sango. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize." He growled, pulling her in to a hug. She seemed surprised at first, tensing up a bit, but soon relaxed herself. "Also… You might hate me after this…" He mumbled, stroking her hair. She looked up at him, her eyes holding question. He turned around and led her around the corner, in front of a dark brown door. She observed the door, wondering exactly what could've been beyond it. He placed his hand on the golden doorknob and she waited, growing impatient at his dramatic movements. He slowly opened the door until it swung far enough for Kagome to see what was inside.

Her eyes widened, jaw dropping. She gaped at what waited inside that room. The person's head slowly looked up from staring down at the floor. Kagome moved back a bit, her back bumping in to the red carpeted walls. Why? Why?! She wanted to scream. Memories came rushing back to her of the events that occurred back in her home.

It was Kikyo.

~* Oh, I'm really mean. I'm constantly leaving cliffys for you guys to come back for more :3 Also, Sesshy spoke to Kagome. Now try to think about what he meant. Shippo's back! Why do you think Kikyo's there? Wasn't Inuyasha done with her? Hmmm. We shall find out in the next chapter! Thank you all for staying with me 3 I love you guys ! Oh and you would've gotten this update sooner if Hurricane Sandy didn't bother me -.- I hope you all enjoyed. Please review ~


	14. Chapter 14

~* And here is another chapter after such a long wait. I hope it was worth it. - I'm horrible ,

"Let's just stop

Drop everything

Forget each other's names

And just walk away."

"Baby You Wouldn't Last a Minute on the Creek" by Chiodos

**Chapter 14****: A Dream**

Kagome and Kikyo stood looking at each other. Kagome didn't know what she was supposed to feel then. Her emotions were so mixed and it made her want to vomit. The questions were still running in her head. For the time she had been playing with Sango and Miroku, she thought she was free. She thought she left all of the pain behind and finally let go of her past. She thought this was a chance to move on, so why was Kikyo there?

"Kagome…" Inuyasha placed an arm on her shoulder but Kagome did something not even she thought she'd do. She shoved him away, and hard. Turning icy eyes on him, they held only one word. Why?

"Kagome!" Kikyo yelled, walking over towards her sister. She looked almost relieved to see her alright, but Kagome just gave a blank stare. "You're alright…" Kagome inched away from her sister, her two hands bawling in to fists. She wanted to yell for her sister to stay away, but she couldn't. Why couldn't she? She could easily run back to Sango's arms and complain, she wouldn't judge her, right? Then Sango would scold Inuyasha for her and he'd realize his mistake. Yes, that sounded like the perfect idea.

She turned around and sprinted forward, running down the hall towards where she thought Sango was. Inuyasha yelled for her to come back and she could hear someone run after her, and that only made her feet move faster. She ran until her lungs burn, probably passing where Sango's location was. It didn't matter. She had to get away, away from the past. That was best for her.

She passed Shippo on her way, and came to a halt before she could crush the little boy. She let her knees give in and landed on the floor, trying to catch her breath. She turned her head behind her and relief flushed over her as she saw no one there.

"Kagome…?" Shippo called out, a lollipop stick hung from his mouth. She turned her head again to meet his worried stare. "Are you alright? Would you like some candy?" He asked, sticking his hand out to show small pieces of different colored candy. Some were hard, others looked soft and chewy. She couldn't help but smile at the adorable kid and picked a gummy candy from his hand. She popped it in her mouth and chewed on it, making Shippo grin. "It tastes good right? You feel better now, right?" He asked, eager to hear her answer. She simply nodded her head.

Kagome thought, long and hard as she stared at Shippo. Her head fell back and she burst out laughing. Her laugh was long and it held no real humor. "A dream!" She yelled. "This, everything, all a dream!" She yelled to the ceiling, a frown finding its way on Shippo's face as he became worried again. Kagome looked back at Shippo and pointed a finger at him. "You're not real! Who am I kidding, how can demons be real? _Demons?_ Are you serious?" She laughed again and stood up from her spot, walking past Shippo. "How could I not see it before? I'm _asleep_. I've been asleep for a long time, that's it. None of this is real and I'll soon wake up. Maybe I'm in a coma. I'll wake up, I will! I'll wake up before I entered this ridiculous high school. Maybe I'll even wake up in dad's arms!" She grinned to herself, but her eyes showed no emotion. She skipped down the hall, her sanity finally breaking.

"Kagome," Miroku greeted when she turned the corner. "Inuyasha's looking for you… he said you ran off." Shippo jumped up on Kagome's shoulder and shook his head.

"Miroku, I don't think Kagome's feeling well…" Shippo told him, his lip pouting out. "She's screaming weird things." Miroku eyed Kagome, lifting a brow.

"Get off, get off." Kagome told Shippo, swiping him away. Shippo jumped off and landed next to Miroku, his eyes looking hurt. "You're not real." She told Miroku, shaking her head. "Nope, nope…" She mumbled to herself, swiftly passing him. Miroku seemed confused, and grew worried for Kagome's health. He walked beside her, Shippo atop his shoulder now.

"Kagome… Are you sure you're alright?"

~(^o^)~

"Did you find her?" Inuyasha asked, his voice rough. For once, he cursed living in such a huge house. There he stood at the end of the dining hall as he had sent out others to look for Kagome. He didn't mean to scare her, hell, he didn't even know she'd react that way.

"No…" Sango sighed, tying her hair up in to a high pony tail. She stared at Inuyasha for a couple of seconds before smacking his arm.

"The hell was that for?!" Inuyasha asked, rubbing the side of his arm in annoyance.

"How could you go and bring Kikyo here? Especially after what happened!" Sango scolded, placing both hands on her sides. Inuyasha looked ashamed, his head hung down in shame.

"It's just… Kikyo… She told me she wanted to make up with her sister, see? She told me… about everything that happened with Kagome when they were younger. It wasn't really her fault." Inuyasha sighed, rubbing the back of his head. Sango still didn't understand, but it looked like she didn't care. Her number one concern right then was Kagome.

"Doesn't matter." She told him, "It's too soon to bring her here, don't you realize that?!"

"Kikyo is my goddamn girlfriend! She didn't want to stay with her mother, do you hear me?!" Inuyasha yelled back trying to defend himself.

"Yeah, well Kagome is your best friend and she needs us right now. If you're not going to be there for her, then stick by Kikyo. But don't lead Kagome on in to thinking you care." She grumbled, stomping away from him. Inuyasha wanted to yell, he wanted to scream that yes, he did care, but what she had said was true. Although he cared, he was sticking by Kikyo right then, yet Kagome was the one seriously hurt. What an asshole he had been.

"Inuyasha! I found Kagome!" Miroku yelled, his hand gripping Kagome's arm and tugging her towards Inuyasha. She had the silliest grin on her face, and Inuyasha furrowed his brows, running up to her.

"Kagome, are you alright?" He asked, making Miroku let her go. He held her by her shoulders, looking in to her expressionless eyes.

"Dog ears…" She murmured, staring up at his ears. "White hair… Gold eyes…" She continued.

"Kagome?" His ears twitched, and he cocked his head in confusion. He looked over at Miroku for some type of explanation.

"She's sick, is my guessing." Miroku told him with a small shrug.

"She's been acting real strange when she came running towards me…" Shippo told Inuyasha, in to which he directed his attention back to Kagome.

"FOX FEET! DOG EARS!" Kagome yelled, shaking her head. "Definitely a dream!" She laughed again, but it was flat and fake.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha shook her and for a moment, just by hearing his voice, Kagome seemed to regain her sanity. She stared up at him with scared eyes, biting on her lower lip.

"A dream…" She tried whispering to herself.

"Could you leave us alone?" Inuyasha asked Miroku and Shippo, mentally promising to take Kagome to the infirmary afterwards. The two left Inuyasha and Kagome to speak alone in private. "Kagome, I'm sorry. I'm so damn sorry." He told her, his arms wrapping around her fragile body and pulling her in to a hug.

"How is a half demon even possible? That's how I know this isn't reality." Was her simple response.

"Oi! Stop mumbling nonsense, alright?!" He scolded, pulling back from her with a scowl. She almost flinched at the sound of his voice, her attitude being turned on at his reply.

"Nonsense? Oh, _I'm_ mumbling nonsense?" Now this was the Kagome with spark. This probably would've been how she normally reacted to his ignorance if she had a normal life. "Demons! Tell me! Does that even sound realistic? All of this! It's ridiculous!" She told him, clenching her jaw. "None of this," She pointed a finger at him, "_You_, aren't real!" Inuyasha's eyes grew wide. What had happened to Kagome? Couldn't she see this was very much reality? Sure, to any other outsider, demons may have seemed unreal—actually, there were only a few left in the world. But in their civilization, demons existed.

"Oh yes, I do suppose it sounds ridiculous." A voice jumped in behind Kagome. Inuyasha looked to see his older brother taking off his tie. "But how can you not believe what you see, _human_." He snarled, slightly offended at the fact that she didn't believe in demons. She thought the sound of them were ridiculous.

Kagome turned her head to see Sesshomaru there, and gave him a blank stare. "I'm dreaming, of course." She said, voice soft and light.

"Sesshomaru, stay out of it." Inuyasha growled at his brother, pulling Kagome protectively closer towards him.

"I couldn't help but overhear and comment, little brother. That woman herself is simply ridiculous." Sesshomaru stated, walking away from the two. Kagome stared at his retreating figure and then turned her eyes back on Inuyasha.

"Kagome, listen to me, please. I want to explain everything to you, alright?" He told her, his hands sliding down her arms to lock fingers with her. It was meant as a friendly gesture, but it made Kagome's heart race.

'Dream, dream, dream.' She kept telling herself, but it was harder to do so with Inuyasha staring right at her. Her face was heating up, and her eyes nervously fidgeted around, only locking on his for a couple of seconds before staring at something else again.

"Inuyasha." Kikyo's voice sounded from behind him. Damn, so many interruptions. Kagome tensed up, remembering the reason why she had run away.

'Dream, dream, dream, dream…' She repeated in her head over and over. It was hard to believe this wasn't her reality. When Inuyasha stepped aside for Kikyo to come in to view, Kagome took her hands away from Inuyasha and clutched them to her chest. Kikyo walked up to Kagome and wrapped her arms around her younger sister's neck.

"Kagome, I'm so happy you're alright!" Kikyo smiled, and suddenly an odd feeling came over Kagome. Kikyo was worried about her? She was positive Kikyo would be the first to be happy Kagome might've died. "I was so afraid…" Kikyo murmured shakily, and Kagome could feel warm drops of water on her shoulder. Kikyo was crying?

'No… This is definitely a dream…' Kagome knitted her brows together, trying to get the warm feeling she had to go away. It made her want to cuddle her big sister, because these had been one of the things she's always wanted. Two sides were fighting inside her. One was against Kikyo, the other, for her. 'Kikyo left you, she lied, she bullied you, she tried taking everyone away from you…' one side screamed while the other softly spoke 'It wasn't her fault, it was the way she was raised. You're still her sister.'

But it seemed the dark side was winning just then.

"Bitch, bitch, bitch!" Kagome yelled, pushing Kikyo to the floor. Inuyasha had caught her just in time and gave Kagome shocked eyes. She didn't look like the type to curse, nor did she look like one who'd succumb to physical violence. Kikyo looked hurt, the tears falling faster down her cheeks. "Leave me alone!" She screamed, her hand covering her ears. "All of you!"

With those last words, she sprinted away, looking for the nearest way out.

(;_;)

Kagome made it outside, rain had started now. It dripped down and made her hair damp. Her eyes were sore from crying. She was so confused on everything happening at the moment, and she hated it. She had nowhere to go. Her feet lead her any possible location she could find.

She made it to a park, and she could've sworn it was the same park she was injured in. She sat on a bench, her clothes soaked now. She shivered at the wind passing by, her body cold yet her soul feeling numb. What could she do now?

"Shouldn't you be home? You'll catch a cold there." A deep voice greeted, an umbrella suddenly covering her head. She looked up and the bad feeling she always caught came to her. It was Hotaru. She shriveled away, her body pressing against the bench. Hotaru laughed, a hand extending out to her.

"Come with me, I won't do anything to you." He told her, his voice a mystery to her. Why? Why did it have to be him out of all people? She would've been fine with Bankotsu or Koga, but it was Hotaru, the creepy kid. He gave off the same feeling she had around Naraku, and for some reason she could tell he wasn't good. She should've run away right then… But she didn't. Maybe it was her insanity- her sanity- her mind just not thinking.

Instead of running, she reached out and grabbed his hand.

~* Kagome, wait, STAHP! WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter of more drama and Kagome going insane with thinking this is all a dream (who knows, maybe it could be?) Sorry for the late update, eeeek , I don't know how many times I say that. Thank you for all of your reviews! ~ Also, I added songs to Chapter 11 and 12 and edited some mistakes but couldn't really edit the whole thing. Hopefully I'll get to it! Review! ~ (Sorry the chapter is short)


	15. Chapter 15

~* It's all coming together :3 Don't leave me now

"Her feelings she hides, her dreams she can't find

She's losing her mind, she's falling behind

She can't find her place, she's losing her face

She's falling from grace, she's all over the place."

- "Nobody's Home" By Avril Lavigne

**Chapter Fifteen****: Memories**

"Where are ya headed?" Hotaru asked as he sat beside Kagome in his car driving away from the park they had just met in. Kagome glanced his way before directing her eyes outside the window, the raindrops sliding down the glass as silence rang in the car. She had nowhere to go. While the engine vibrated behind them, Kagome saw Inuyasha's mansion as it was clearly hard to miss. They were passing by it and her eyes caught a figure sitting out in front of the mansion and you could tell they had been out for a while. Their hair was soaked looking almost a dark gray, sticking to their shoulders and their head was buried in their hands as if ashamed. It was Inuyasha.

Staying out that long in the rain? He'd catch a cold, but then again he was half demon. Kagome watched her eyes pained as he faded from her view. It was starting to get foggy outside and she thought she heard Hotaru mumble something about stopping soon. She could feel Hotaru constantly looking at her and she wondered what his look would hold. Lust? Insanity? His look would determine his actions but she didn't have the courage to let her eyes wander towards him.

"What's wrong Kagome?" He asked, placing a hand on her thigh, his other hand on the wheel, and lightly caressing her leg. Kagome's stomach twisted and she felt like hurling. She clenched her jaw, teeth scratching together. He said her name, the name she never told him yet he somehow knew and now he was _touching_ her. Stop, she wanted to say, please. But the words remained buried in her thoughts too afraid to escape her lips. She kept her mouth shut, eyes focused on the road as they entered the highway. He continued to rub her thigh and Kagome swore he rose a little bit higher each time, but maybe it was just her.

~(***)~

Inuyasha pounded his fist against the concrete floor, his knuckles already bleeding from the impact. He continued to curse at himself for letting her get away. Sango and Miroku occasionally tried to bring him inside so they could all plan it out but it was no use. He blamed himself.

He had followed her scent towards the nearby park, but then another scent came up; one he did not like. It was that new kid's. Kagome had run off with him and he had no idea where. He could've tried tracing the scent from the guy's car, but too many other cars had already passed and mixed the scent, making it go all over the place. He lost Kagome.

"Inuyasha… Is Kagome going to be alright?" A frightened voice from beside Inuyasha came. His ears twitched and he glanced towards his right to see Shippo sitting beside him staring at him with hopeful eyes. Inuyasha had been asking himself that question for the past couple of minutes now. He wanted to go crazy, not even Kikyo could calm him.

"Go inside, Shippo." Inuyasha told him, turning away and crossing his arms. "You'll get sick."

~(***)~

"We'll just stay here for a bit, and then I'll take you home." Hotaru told Kagome from inside his kitchen, his voice traveling towards the living room where she now sat. Home? Kagome had no home. Where would she even end up after this? Dead? Alive? There's a question that could never be answered because nobody could predict the future.

She sat on his couch, sunk deep in to its cushions. Her hand rested limply on the arm rest while her emotions tried to catch up with her. She was feeling so numb and lost. Her head began questioning if this really were a dream because everything felt too real. She didn't want to be here with him, but at the same time she didn't care.

Turning her head, she took time to observe and take notice of the possessions in his house… If this _were_ his house. Her eyes locked on a photo that rested on the table near her. Standing up, she walked over to it and picked it up, wondering if she could find some background information on this boy. It looked like two children playing together, possibly looking at the camera but she wasn't so sure. Their faces were smudged with dust and hard crumbs of some substance she knew nothing of. She tried scratching it off with her finger, but Hotaru's voice made her freeze.

"What're you looking at?" He asked, walking over towards her. She dropped the photo and kept shut, biting on her lower lip in nervousness. She didn't look at him, therefore her back was still turned towards him. When he came over, his head peeked over her shoulder and she could feel his breathing. She tensed up and he gave a light chuckle, only it didn't sound too happy. It sounded sad. "I should've known. Of _course_ that'd catch your eye."

'Why would it?' she asked mentally, 'It doesn't mean anything to me, I was just curious.'

"Come, let's sit. I made hot chocolate for you." He told her, his hand taking hers and guiding her towards the couch. When they did sit, he handed her a cup of hot chocolate that had been on the table in front of him. Kagome took it, cupping the entire thing in her hands. She stared down in to the brown liquid, wondering if she should trust him enough to drink it. Instead, she let it sit on her lap. "Tell me a little bit about yourself, Kagome. Tell me about your past."

Now this seemed silly, didn't it? Obviously he knew about her already, or so she thought. He already knew her name, why not find out the rest of her? He was a stalker, right? But she didn't even know her past, and if he did, she wanted him to tell her. Instead of answering, she simply stared at him, her eyes protesting that she wouldn't stop. What happened to all of the sudden energy she had before? The craziness that came out when she was back at Inuyasha's?

"Nothing, huh? So, you forgot?" He asked, his head laying back on the pillows. Forgot? That meant he did know something. "The day we first met, it was such an amazing day, or at least for me it was." Kagome couldn't remember Hotaru at all. She didn't even have pictures with him, only Naraku. "Well, let me refresh your memory, alright?" He gave a small smile and stared up at the ceiling, as if lost in some fairytale world. "It was in a park, a park with the greenest grass and brightest flowers. Can you picture it? The sun blazing down on young children who all looked so happy with their lives. One of them however was isolated from the rest. Still can't remember? Let me give you an image." His hands flew to her forehead, two fingers pressed against it and Kagome's vision left. She was no longer sitting down in Hotaru's living room; instead she was in a park.

Children could be seen, she wasn't too far from them. One of them had black hair that ended around his neck and was poking fish in a pond with a stick, isolated from the other children. Kagome wondered why the child wasn't playing with the others and then directed her eyes towards the kids. They were all laughing and whispering while pointing at the isolated child. They were bullying him.

One of the children stood out the most to Kagome. She wore a bright yellow dress with white flowers on the bottom. She had the silliest smile on her face and had been plucking flowers from the ground. A small butterfly passed her sight and she immediately went to catch it. It flew over towards the little boy and when it passed over his head and out of sight, the little girl sat and began to whine. Her hair was up in a small pony tail, its dark waves shined with color. That little girl was Kagome.

The little boy, obviously annoyed with her whining, turned around and faced her, asking her to shut up. She stopped whining and stared at the boy with her big eyes before breaking out in to a grin. Sticking her hand out, she introduced herself with the highest pitched voice, "Hello! I'm Kagome!"

Ah yes, this was the old Kagome. She was happy all the time, no matter what. She tried being nice to everyone and would catch an attitude with those who would argue with her. She was so different now.

"Leave me alone." The boy replied.

"I'm just trying to be nice!" She pouted, her hands going on her hips. "C'mon! I know a great game we can play!" She tried and the boy made a face, his cheeks gone pink and grumbled an agreement. Focusing her eyes more on the boy now, she realized it was the same boy from the photo in her room. It was Naraku.

Soon the whole vision faded and she was back sitting beside Hotaru.

"That was a special moment for me, see? No one had ever talked to me as nicely as you did." He sounded like he had been talking the whole time the vision was playing, but she didn't make out his words. Did that mean that little boy was Hotaru, not Naraku? "You were the everlasting sunshine that would light my day after it rains. A gorgeous rose that never dies. I wanted you to be mine forever." His hand bawled up in to a fist.

'How long were we friends?' she wanted to ask. Surely a child wouldn't think such things.

"But then people tried taking you away from me. Let's make your father an example. He'd constantly take you away and tell you not to play with me. Why? Because my father was said to be crazy and he didn't want you getting mixed up in my business with father. He thought I was crazy too, am I right?" Hotaru's voice was angry now and he looked at Kagome with pure fury. Surely there was another reason. Kagome's father wouldn't separate them just for that. "And even now! I still can't have you. That damn half demon is taking you away along with those other two humans." He was snarling, growling. Kagome did not like the change that was happening here so she nervously sipped her chocolate, hoping she could get away soon but was so intent on listening. His eyes watched her drink and he let out a sigh, trying to control himself. "But that's going to change."

~(***)~

"I'm just asking for help!" Inuyasha growled at his brother who was busy dealing with a certain amounts of paper work on his desk. Inuyasha was standing inside his brother's office inside their home which he rarely ever went to. He forgot how big it was and how many books it held. It was more a library than an office.

"And this amuses me." Sesshomaru told him, taking off his reading glasses and staring his brother down. Inuyasha never asked for help from his brother, ever. "I'm busy with father's work. I don't want to hear from you again." He told his younger brother calmly while standing up to kick him out.

"You're a fucking bastard!" Inuyasha yelled, determined to stay. "You're the only one I can turn to because of your connections. I need your fucking help to get Kagome back." He was desperate now, especially since he was turning to Sesshomaru. With his help, he'd be able to find Kagome, but would his brother even try helping?

"People die every day. What makes her so different?" Sesshomaru replied, his claws tapping against the desk in irritation.

"You fucking assh—" Inuyasha started but was immediately cut off by a voice in the doorway. He had been planning to attack until he heard this voice and both of the brother's heads turned to face the newcomer.

"Stop it! Both of you." Rin scolded, stepping inside the room. She wasn't one to stop the two from bickering, nor was she one to give orders to her bosses, but she knew this was serious. "Sesshomaru, why can't you just help him out? Kagome's missing, and I'm worried for her." Rin asked, making her way over to the older sibling with a pout. Sesshomaru watched her walk over to him, coughed and turned his back on the two. "Please?" She pushed on, "I still want to become friends with Kagome." And that's when Rin hugged Sesshomaru's back, sending a small wink towards Inuyasha's way to let him know she was helping.

"I suppose I could do something, but don't expect much." Sesshomaru grumbled sending Inuyasha a glare and Inuyasha scoffed. A woman was what it took to bring down the older demon? Then again, wasn't another woman making Inuyasha beg his brother?

Inuyasha left the room, knowing his brother would end up helping him thanks to Rin. She was important to him, and he didn't know if it was in a fatherly way or he had feelings for the human, but he didn't really care. Sesshomaru had found Rin homeless somewhere out of the country they lived in now while on a business trip for their father who owned most places around. Somehow he decided it was good to bring her back to where they lived and offer her a job.

He met up with Sango and Miroku in the kitchen. They both had been worried sick. Sango was just as bad as Inuyasha while Miroku was just praying for the best outcome. He was upset too, but wasn't in tears like Sango was.

"Do you think she'll regret meeting us?" Sango asked, her voice shaky as Miroku held her by her shoulders, "Do you think she'll go and kill hers—"

"Stop that." Inuyasha grumbled, the thought making his stomach sick. He passed by the two and went to grab something to drink, hoping it would calm him down. "Sesshomaru's going to help us."

"He actually agreed?" Miroku asked, raising a brow. For as long as he knew the brothers, they never got along. They never agreed to anything for each other and would only cause chaos for one another.

"Yes…" Inuyasha's claw tapped on the marble counter. "We're going to get Kagome back, but from what we've seen Naraku do, it won't be easy."

"But didn't you say she was with Hotaru?" Miroku questioned, standing up from his seat and walking over towards his friend.

"Naraku and Hotaru have similar scents and they give off the same bad feeling. Coincidence? No. That boy is Naraku, that or has something to do with him. Besides, he made Sango faint with just a look, right? He's dangerous." Inuyasha told him, holding a soda can in his hand. His fingers began to tightly close around it, crushing it more and more until it popped and the soda flew out.

"Then we better move fast." Miroku replied, watching the soda leak down Inuyasha's hand.

~(***)~

'Change?' Kagome thought, her head spinning as she dropped the chocolate milk on the floor. She had been drugged! Why did she drink the hot chocolate? Was she too caught up in the moment of his talking, the memories and the nervousness brought on by her that she casually drank it without thought? She fell on to the floor, her vision blurry but fighting to remained focus.

"See the picture you were looking at? You have one, don't you?" Hotaru asked, watching her body collaspse to the floor. He walked over her to grab the picture and scratch the dust away from the faces then held it up in front of her. "See? That's us!" It was the same picture from her album, the very same album that held her memories, possibly burnt now. Kagome blinked as she tried to fight the drug. "Everything will change now, Kagome." He cackled, his skin melting off his face as if he were burning- boiling. His eyes changed to a deep red and his hair flew out much longer than before.

Naraku.

Although she was losing consciousness, she knew who she saw. It was him but why did he want her? How did she not notice it before? The chance she needed to talk to him was right in front of her but she couldn't make the words come out. Naraku was disguising himself as another person to get to Kagome? A very smart plan, but did he really plan it this far to the point where he knew he'd capture her like this? And why her in specifically? Why not Kikyo?

"You're mine now Kagome." Naraku told her, brushing her cheek with his hand. Kagome felt disgusted. She didn't want to be his. He despised her father, he despised her friends. Why couldn't she remember anything about him? Maybe she could've used it against him, but nothing came to mind. She was in trouble and she knew it. Her feelings finally came forward and she was scared, worried. She wanted to be saved, she wanted her hero.

She wanted Inuyasha.

The last thing she saw was Naraku's devilish smirk directed towards her. She wasn't thinking about what he'd do, she wasn't even thinking about the whole situation anymore. She was thinking about Inuyasha. That was the only thing that rang through her head, that she wanted him. She needed him, but would he really come after she ran away? Wasn't he her savior? For the past couple of weeks, she thought he had been, but then again this wasn't a fairytale. This wasn't even a dream. Reality had come to smack her in the face and laugh at her mockingly.

'Inuyasha… I'm sorry…' Her mind spoke, just before she blacked out.

~* Will Inuyasha save Kagome in time? What will Naraku do to her? What about Kikyo? Where did she go? Will more of Kagome's memories be revealed? Will this author be killed by her readers because of her lateness in updating? So many questions. Everything is coming together, meaning everything that was tossed around will finally make sense. Review please! I hope you enjoyed it!


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